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Goodbye Christopher Robin, a biopic about the life of A.A. Milne, power of imagination, the crisis of celebrity, and the importance of childhood. Domhnall Gleeson’s Milne is a man struggling with PTSD and what it means to be a writer in the wake of the First World War. Married to Daphne (Margot Robbie), the pair often seem somewhat stern and detached toward their son Christopher Robin, who is raised almost entirely by his nanny. However, the pivotal time the parents do spend with their son is portrayed in scenes dappled with sunlight and warmth. The toys which populate the world of Winnie the Pooh and inspire a literary phenomenon originate with Daphne, who brings them to life through play, while A.A. offers adventure and imagination on endless days outdoors. The film interrogates this creative process, as the experience of playing together detaches itself from reality, and becomes a story.
Will Tilston is the film’s true star, as Christopher Robin. His onscreen relationship with his nanny (Kelly MacDonald) is thoroughly touching. Tilston’s character encapsulates the innocence and petulance of childhood; through him we watch Christopher Robin’s transition from ordinary little boy to international icon, as he is plucked from childhood and dropped into celebrity. Tilston draws the audience in and leads them into the make-believe childhood world. The ability of the Winnie the Pooh books to preserve the safety of childhood is what made them such a success, but the film invites the audience to question the power, or powerlessness, of an author to control his work once it has reached the public. Once Winnie the Pooh is out there, it cannot be taken back, regardless of the damage such heightened attention does to the family.
The imaginary world of the books is centred in the woods near the family’s home, where, in cyclical fashion, the film both begins and ends. As father and son overlook the wood they once played in together, the sun-filled frame brings with it nostalgia. Both are now war veterans, both grown up, but repeated echoes to childhood keep its innocence, imagination and happiness alive. Emotional at all the right times (my mam cried), this film isn’t just a piece of fluff to be soon forgotten about. Well-cast and well-scripted, and particularly pleasing if you know the world of Winnie the Pooh well, Simon Curtis’s Goodbye Christopher Robin, is a riveting watch.
