Goodbye Christopher Robin - Liked It - DOUBLEFEATUREPREACHERS

Goodbye Christopher Robin - Liked It

10/11/2017

Starring: Domhnall Gleeson, Margot Robbie, Kelly Macdonald
Director: Simon Curtis
Runtime: 1 hour, 47 minutes
Biography | Family | History | 2017

Goodbye Christopher Robin tells us the story of how A.A. Milne created Winnie the Pooh, a most beloved children’s book character. He was inspired by his son’s imagination during the few days that he was wife-less and nanny-less. Domhnall Gleeson played Alan Milne, a man who is scarred from the war and ridden with PTSD, but also a talented writer of plays. When the sounds of the city become too much, he moves his family out to the country for some peace and quiet. Here is where Christopher Robin a..k.a. Billy Moon imagined and played in the woods around his home.

I thought this story was good for the most part, it was interesting to see how Alan created the book and even more interesting to watch Christopher Robin play in the woods with his father. For the majority of the movie though, I was just pissed off at Mr. Milne and his wife Daphne (played by Margot Robbie) as how they treated their son. That poor kid just wanted to be with his parents, and all they cared about was the fame that came with the books (well, I mostly hated Daphne seeing as Alan was a little regretful by his actions).

Basically the creation of Winnie the Pooh ruined Christopher Robin’s childhood. He was thrown into stardom even though he was only a boy. For the longest time while I was watching the film I was waiting for something absolutely terrible to happen, since the title is Goodbye Christopher Robin. I get it now, but I was thinking morbidly after the first scene in the film was a flash forward.

I thought the acting in this film was good. Robbie really made me hate her, so I’d call that a win on the character that she had to play. Way different than Harley Quinn, and she nailed it. As for Domhnall Gleeson, each time something happened to trigger the PTSD was really brought to the screen, and it was evident that Mr. Milne was struggling to be a father figure to his son. For me, the star of the show was Will Tilston, young Christopher Robin. I thought he was just wonderful, the attachment he had to his parents, his nanny, and his stuffed animals were perfect to watch.

I also loved Kelly Macdonald who played Olive a.k.a Nou, the nanny to Billy. She finally gave the parents her peace of mind, that really didn’t even affect anything. It saddens me.

If you are a fan of Christopher Robin and Winnie the Pooh (I know I am) then this is an interesting watch for you. Biographical movies on how something so popular came to be is always interesting to me, and Milne’s story is one that’s worth a watch. That being sad, I’d recommend this movie and give it a “Liked It” rating. I felt like the acting was great and I loved the imaginative and wondrous effects when the little boy was dreaming and pretending. It’s a lovely father and son tale that isn’t so happy but also not so sad. (4/5)

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