"Lassie" - A Gem to Seek Out (1 Viewer)

[Craig S]

Many of you may never have heard of it, but the new Lassie is the year's best surprise.

I first saw an ad for this about a week ago and my reaction was WTF??? Lassie in 2006?? How lame!

Then, I started hearing some buzz. Several posters at "Hollywood Elsewhere" gave good reviews in response to a Jeff Wells diss (Wells has since seen the movie and calls it "a first-rate family-geared film"). It got two big thumbs up on the "... & Roeper" show. It's now running a very fresh 91% at Rotten Tomatoes.

So we saw Lassie yesterday, and I can say it's a first-rate film for all ages. It's beautifully photographed (you will want to book a trip to Scotland the minute you leave the theater) and the acting is first-rate. When the cast includes Peter O'Toole, Samantha Morton, Peter Dinklage, Edward Fox, Kelly McDonald, & Robert Hardy (among many other notable British thesps), anyone who calls himself a film fan should sit up & take notice. There are no talking animals or CGI. Director Charles Sturridge ("Brideshead Revisited") treats his human and animal characters with equal respect, and never talks down to his audience. Yes, things get a bit weepy near the end, but dammit, the dog earns the tears. It's one of the best films that I've seen this year, and the best animal movie since My Dog Skip.

This is apparently in very limited release, and will likely disappear from theaters soon. Forget the crap that's filling most screens at this time of the year. If Lassie is playing near you, take the time to see it. You won't be disappointed.

 

[Kirk Gunn]

Thanks much for that tip. There are very few movies I feel comfortable taking my daughter too, I'll definitely search this one out.

 

[Parker Clack]

This sounds like something to take my daughter to.

 

[Ray H]

Is this based on the dog show? You know, the one with Timmy trapped in the well?

 

[Craig S]

No, this is based on the original "Lassie" novel, set in pre-WWII England/Scotland. The original Lassie Comes Home movie made in 1943 (the one with a young Roddy McDowell as the boy) was also based on this novel. Most of the subsequent "Lassie" properties took the base element of a collie and did different things with it. For example, the TV show many US viewers are most familiar with is set here in the US.

The new Lassie film is a return to the story's roots, so to speak.

 

[george kaplan]

Lassie isn't really one of my favorite stories, but I agree that this is on par with the original (and the same basic story). I found it OK, but my wife and 6 year old son loved it.

 

[Roger_S]

I'm hoping to see this but the movie isn't playing anywhere in my area at this time. Hopefully it'll show up sometime in the next couple of weeks.

And by the way, Timmy never did fall down a well...

 

[Jerry R Colvin]

Saw it today during my lunch hour (in its second week, it is already down to just one showing a day at my nearest theater here in Louisville) and quite liked it. Don't want to dwell on the negative, but I had some problems with Peter O'Toole's performance, otherwise.... everything else was just fine.