Tuesday, September 4, 2018

Movie Review: ****Goodbye Christopher Robin (2017)

This movie tells the story of the relationship between Christopher Robin, and his father, the author of the children's books about Winnie the Pooh.  It is sandwiched around two wars WWI and WWII.  AA Milne, the father served in WWI and Christopher Robin served in WWII.  AA Milne (Domhnall Gleeson) was a playwright before WWI.  The war traumatized him so that he had difficulty finding peace, and as a result the "fled" to the countryside.  He had lost his enthusiasm to right, but found it again when he was left to care for Christopher for several weeks.  Nannie (Kelly Macdonald) had left to attend to her sick mother.  His wife, Daphne (Margot Robbie) had left because he wasn't writing.  She returned to London.  His son's play and imagination provided the inspiration for the Winnie the Pooh stories.  He started writing poetry to go with the stories.  Christopher is portrayed by two actors, Will Tilston (young) and Alex Lawther as a young man.
The tragedy is that Christopher Robin was caught up in the publicity for the books.  In a way his childhood was put on display, and given to the world, whether Christopher wanted to share or no.  Being a public figure was not Christopher's choice, and as a result his childhood was stolen.  He became bitter, and enlisted in the military for WWII, against the wishes of his mother.  He could have been deferred for health reasons, but he insisted he be allowed to be his own person. 
He left bitter and mad at his father.  When his parents received notice of his death, it seemed that was the end.  Somehow the notice was wrong, he came back to let his father know that he had resolved the issues with his childhood.  Being in the world he was able to see the positive influence the Pooh stories had on other children.  He was glad to have been a part.

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