Psycho's Movie Reviews #407: Matilda (1996)

Matilda is a 1996 American fantasy comedy film co-produced and directed by Danny DeVito, from a screenplay written by Nicholas Kazan and Robin Swicord. Based on Roald Dahl's popular 1988 novel of the same name, the film stars Mara Wilson as the title character with DeVito (who also served a dual role as the narrator), Rhea Perlman, Embeth Davidtz and Pam Ferris in supporting roles. The film centres on the titular child prodigy, Matilda Wormwood, who develops psychokinetic abilities and uses them to deal with her disreputable family; and Agatha Trunchbull, the ruthless, oppressive, and tyrannical principal of Crunchem Hall Elementary School.

Produced by DeVito's Jersey Films, the film was released theatrically in the United States on August 2, 1996, by Sony Pictures Releasing through TriStar Pictures label. The film received positive reviews, praising DeVito's direction, and the film's faithfulness to the spirit of the source material. However, the film was commercially unsuccessful, grossing $33.5 million in the United States on a $36 million budget.

Plot

Young genius Matilda Wormwood is neglected and mistreated by her car dealer father Harry, her mother Zinnia and her brother, Michael. She is smart and independent, and finds solace in the fictional worlds of books at the public library. When Matilda's parents refuse to enrol her into school, she puts bleach in her father's hair tonic and glues his hat to his head. Harry catches Matilda reading Moby-Dick, rips it up, and forces her to watch game shows on television. Matilda becomes increasingly enraged until the television explodes.

Harry sells a car to Miss Agatha Trunchbull, the tyrannical principal of Crunchem Hall Elementary School, in exchange for admitting Matilda as a student. Matilda's teacher, Miss Jennifer Honey, notices the ease with which Matilda answers middle school multiplication questions and requests Matilda be moved to a higher class, but Trunchbull refuses. The Wormwoods are not interested either. Trunchbull has the whole school watch her forcing pupil Bruce Bogtrotter to eat an entire enormous chocolate cake. Matilda leads the students in cheering Bruce to success, and Trunchbull gives them all five hours detention. Matilda discovers her father is under surveillance by the FBI over his illegal dealings. Her parents refuse to believe her as Zinnia flirts with the two agents whom she believes to be speedboat salesmen.

Matilda's friend Lavender puts a newt in Trunchbull's water jug. Trunchbull accuses Matilda, who, in anger at the injustice, telekinetically tips the glass over, splashing the newt onto Trunchbull. Matilda is unable to reproduce her powers to Honey during a test. Honey invites Matilda to tea and reveals a secret: her mother died when she was two, and her father Magnus invited his wife's stepsister, Trunchbull, to live with them and look after her, but Trunchbull abused her. Magnus died, apparently by suicide, when Honey was five and left everything to Trunchbull who Honey suspects killed him. Matilda and Honey sneak into Trunchbull's house to retrieve some of Honey's belongings. They narrowly escape when Trunchbull unexpectedly returns.

Matilda practices her telekinetic powers and thwarts the FBI agents to buy Harry time to come to his senses. She returns to Trunchbull's house and attempts to scare her out of it, nearly succeeding. However, Trunchbull becomes aware of Matilda's presence upon finding her hair ribbon. The next day, Matilda reveals her powers to Honey but Trunchbull visits the class to make Matilda confess. Matilda telekinetically writes a message on the blackboard, posing as the vengeful soul of Magnus accusing Trunchbull of murdering him. Trunchbull attacks the students in a rage, but Matilda protects them and they force Trunchbull out of the school, who retreats in her car and disappears from their lives forever. Honey moves back into her father's house, with Matilda regularly visiting her.

Harry, Zinnia, and Michael come to Honey's house to pick up Matilda and flee to Guam to avoid the FBI. Matilda refuses to go, saying she would rather be adopted by Honey. After brief reservations about giving up their only daughter, her parents sign the adoption papers and Matilda and Honey finally get the family they've always wanted. Honey becomes principal of Crunchem Hall and Matilda never has to use her telekinetic powers for defence again, but occasionally uses them for small tasks such as retrieving books from shelves.

Production

Miriam Margolyes confirmed that she auditioned for the role of Agatha Trunchbull during a filmed interview with Jo Brand for the UK television special Roald Dahl's Revolting Rule Book which was hosted by Richard E. Grant and aired on September 22, 2007. This documentary commemorated Dahl's 90th birthday and also celebrated his impact as a children's author in popular culture. Margolyes went on to play Aunt Sponge (another Dahl villainess) in James and the Giant Peach which was also released in 1996.

Pam Ferris (Miss Trunchbull) incurred several injuries during the production on the film. The climactic scene where she is whacked by blackboard rubbers required her to keep her eyes open, causing chalk dust to get caught in her eyes and necessitating several trips to the hospital to get her eyes washed out. The scene where Trunchbull whirls Amanda Thripp (Jacqueline Steiger) by her pigtails required a harness to support the little girl, the wires of which were threaded through the pigtails and then looped around Ferris's fingertips to give her grip. As she swung her around, the centrifugal force grew too great and tore the top part of Ferris' finger, requiring seven or eight stitches.

The Crank House, in Altadena, stood in for Miss Trunchbull's house. The exterior of Matilda's house is located on Youngwood Drive in Whittier, while the library she visits is the Pasadena Public Library on East Walnut Street in Pasadena.

Mara Wilson's mother, Suzie Wilson, was diagnosed with breast cancer during filming and died four months before the film’s release. The film was dedicated to her memory. Danny DeVito revealed that prior to her death, he had shown her the final edit of the movie so that she was able to see Wilson’s performance in the movie.

Music

Two songs are featured in the film. One of them, "Send Me on My Way" by Rusted Root, is played twice: when four-year-old Matilda is left alone at her house, making pancakes, and at the end of the film, set to a montage of Matilda and Miss Honey playing at Miss Trunchbull's former house. The other song is Thurston Harris' "Little Bitty Pretty One", played when Matilda is learning to control her telekinetic powers. The film's original score was composed by David Newman, a frequent collaborator of DeVito.

Release/Reception/Box Office

The film was released on August 2, 1996 and grossed $33.5 million in the United States against a production budget of $36 million.

As of September 2020, on Rotten Tomatoes, Matilda had an approval rating of 90% based on 21 reviews with an average rating of 7.48/10. The website's critical consensus read, "Danny DeVito-directed version of Matilda is odd, charming, and while the movie diverges from Roald Dahl, it nonetheless captures the book's spirit." On Metacritic, as of September 2020, the film had a score of 72 out of 100 based on reviews from 21 critics, indicating "generally favourable reviews." Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade B+ on scale of A to F. Writing for Empire, Caroline Westbrook gave the film a rating of three stars and praised DeVito's clever direction.

Roger Ebert of Chicago Sun-Times praised the film's oddity, gave it three stars out of four and wrote:

"Trunchbull is the kind of villainess children can enjoy, because she is too ridiculous to be taken seriously and yet really is mean and evil, like the witch in Snow White. And since most children have at one time or another felt that their parents are not nice enough to them, they may also enjoy the portrait of Matilda's parents."

Budget $36 million

Box office $33.5 million

My Review

Imagine being born into a family that doesn't want you, that despises you. Not the happiest of circumstances. This is the foundation of Roald Dahl's delightful fairy tale, 'Matilda', first published in 1988. And Danny DeVito's adaptation (1996) is equally as magical.

The summer of 1996 was an exciting time. Despite being one of the most popular children's authors of the modern era, very few films adaptations had been made of Roald Dahl's work, and now all of a sudden, two were coming out in the same year. Of the two, I was much more excited for James and the Giant Peach, a classic of my childhood. To my surprise, Matilda ended up being the stronger film, and a movie that's endured with many children who grew up in the late '90's. I appreciated Matilda when it came out, and over the years it's really grown on me. Even as an adult, it's a movie I love and remember very well.

What I love about this story, both in the book and in the movie, is that it empowers children to be independent and not rely on parents and educators, who are portrayed as far from perfect but very flawed. Matilda is a gifted, resourceful, and kind-hearted little girl. Yet her parents are self-absorbed, ignorant buffoons who barely know how old she is, and her principal is an abusive tyrant. Only in her teacher does she finally find someone who supports her. I think this rings true to a lot of children. Miss Trunchbull, while obviously exaggerated for comedic effect, represents a problem that I think exists in many schools: educators are more concerned with discipline and authority than they are with actually helping students.

What makes this movie so great is how much heart it has. A lot of Dahl's writing is so wacky and grotesque that I don't think it works on film (The Witches had that problem). Matilda tells a very human story, even when it does get grotesque. Mara Wilson and Embeth Davidtz both do an excellent job and carry the weight of the film. Danny DeVito's direction also deserves credit. DeVito seems to really "get" Dahl's writing; I especially love the way he directs the "chocolate cake" scene. Another director would've had a difficult time making chocolate cake seem like a punishment, but DeVito sets up and shoots the scene in a way that gets under your skin. I love the way he manages to make the cake look disgusting and the Cook look a little creepy. It's little touches like that that make the film great. I also admire DeVito's decision to play dual roles: he plays Matilda's unpleasant father and he is also the story's narrator. This makes the story seem very personal and his narration truly captures the heart of the tale.

The movie is not 100% faithful to the book. Yes, the story is Americanized (though Miss Trunchbull remains British), and some new material is added probably to make the story more commercial (such as a subplot with two bumbling FBI agents, and a thrilling scene where Matilda returns to Miss Trunchbull's house at night). However, these additions do not hurt the story at all, but actually flesh it out. In my opinion, a lot of Dahl's books suffered from weak climaxes, but this film gets it right, while at the same time retaining everything that made Dahl's writing shine.

Dahl and DeVito clearly remember that being a child can be a very scary time. Adults tower over you and have the power to bully you. This film captures that, and its power continue to live on as children continue to embrace it.

There is a lot more to say, such as how DeVito adapts Dahl's vision on screen (Dahl was never fond of movies or TVs himself, as one might deduce from 'Matilda'). What I can say here is that 'Matilda' is certainly one of those family movies that are timeless and that are enjoyable to watch over and over again.

9.8/10