Movies - Dreamchild

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	Movies - Dreamchild

Dreamchild is a 1985 drama film directed by Gavin Millar. It stars Coral Browne, Ian Holm, Peter Gallagher, Nicola Cowper and Amelia Shankley. It tells a somewhat fictionalized story of Alice Hargreaves' (Brown) journey to the United States from England to receive an honorary degree from Columbia University.

As a child, Hargreaves was the inspiration for the character of "Alice" from Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland stories. Now an old woman, the movie focusses on memories and delusions she is having while being compelled to recount the stories of Lewis Carrol, the pen name of the Reverend Charles Dodgson (Holm). The movie jumps back and forth between the movie's present—the 1930s—and Hargreaves' past, the mid-1800s. The director does a good job of preventing confusion for the viewers. Flashbacks are clearly portrayed and divided from the present timeline.

Though lighthearted and whimsically mischievous in the stories, the characters from the Alice stories take on a unmistakable dark and nightmarish quality in Hargreaves' memories and delusions. Instead of engaging in playful banter, they instead mock Hargreaves as she jumps back and forth between her present-day self and her form as a child (Shankley).

Storyline

The movie begins on the ship bearing Hargreaves and Lucy (Cowper), her assistant, from England to New York. As she and Lucy deboard, they are set upon by legions of journalists, all trying to get a story or quote from her. Clearly bewildered by all the excitement, she is befriended by an ex-report, Jack Dolan (Galagher) who helps her and Lucy through the legions of the press. Dolan quickly becomes her agent and finds endorsement oppurtunities for her. Throughout it all, a romance develops between Jack and Lucy.

But all is not well with Mrs. Hargreaves. Being so advanced in age, she needs Lucy to be her constant companion. When left alone in their hotel room, she begins to hullicinate and sees Mr. Dodgson in their room and then, later, the Mad Hatter and March Hare. Joining them for their insane tea party, they berate her for being so advanced in age and forgetful.

Via flashbacks, it is conveyed that Dodgson had an infatuation with the young Alice. Was it an innocent admiration he had for the girl or something innappropriate? Hargreaves is clearly troubled by her recollections of Dodgson. The parameters of her relationship with him were somewhat tortured. Dodgsen was unwaveringly adoring of Alice, and while she was usually kind, she could sometimes be cruel and mocking of him, especially of his occasianal stutter. Hargreaves tries to rectify her feelings and past relationship with the author in her mind.

By the time she delivers her acceptance speech at Cambridge, she's come to terms with Dodgson and the way she treated him. Via a flashback, the viewers see her give him an apology that can be interpretted as all-encompassing.

Reaction

Because of its reference to pedophilia, some viewers found this movie disturbing, and saw it as a pedophilia apologetic film. Though the film does hint that Dodgsen may have had an innapropriate longing for Alice, it does not depict overt pedophilic acts, though the viewer may imagine some such acts did occur. However, through many of Alice's actions during flashbacks, it is fairly clear that she was adept at squelching any amouros attempts on Dodgsen's part.

Perhaps because of the slight references to pedophilia, this movie is unavailable via videotape or DVD in the United States. However, it was available via videotape for a few years shortly after its initial release.

Trivia

The nightmarish creatures from the stories were created by Jim Henson's Creature Shop.

Amelia Shankley, the actress who portrayed young Alice, was 13 when this movie was made. However, she convincingly portrayed Alice as a young girl (about nine or ten) and as a young woman (mid-teens) preparing for marriage.

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