Roald Dahl's Matilda the Musical [2022]
“... the best way to deal with bullies is, tell someone. Straight away. They thrive on silence.”
Starting off my 2023 viewing right, Roald Dahl's Matilda the Musical is better than it has any right to be. While adapting Dahl’s novels to film certainly isn’t a new concept, that doesn’t make it any less risky either. This is a danger that goes double given the original Matilda is one of nostalgia’s favorite films. The way-too-long-titled Roald Dahl's Matilda the Musical, however, manages to be original, exciting, wonderful, and exquisitely crafted.
What a start to the year.
Usually, musical film feels like exactly that: Musical film. Even greats in the genre like Moulin Rouge [2001] or other adaptations like 2012’s Les Misérables feel like musicals written for the big screen, not something with moving sets and live actors – something about them just doesn’t quite click the way seeing a show does. This is where RDMM outshines its competition and harkens more towards Disney's filming of Hamilton, but without the literal stage.
RDMM’s dance numbers are well choreographed and expertly performed – featuring some of the best child acting I’ve seen in ages –, the sets are immaculate, and the cinematography helps boost the wonderful songs to unforgettable heights. There’s something intrinsically magical – pun possibly intended – about Matilda, and we get to experience her in all her strength, confidence, and spunk in this film. Roald Dahl's Matilda the Musical might just be the greatest stage-to-film adaptation in the current century.
Any musical lives and dies by the quality of its songs and the presentation of its largest numbers. RDMM is no slouch here and will almost certainly be nominated for an Oscar because of it. One moment you’ll be riding high on a boisterous tune about how even the smallest people can make big differences [yes, Les Mis did it first, I know] and the next you’ll be sobbing openly at the beautiful possibilities that all the little lives around us encapsulate. Featuring stunning and complex ensemble and solo pieces alike, RDMM is about so much more than just an angry principal or a stalwart and rebellious little girl. Similar to 2022’s Turning Red, Matilda has a lot more going on under the hood than it may originally present. While light hearted and fun, this is not some cartoony treat, but something meaningful, touching, and beautiful.
Start to finish, Roald Dahl's Matilda the Musical has begun the review year as a very difficult thing to overcome. It’s about loving yourself and the world around you, it’s about using your power for good and protecting those without, and it’s about never giving up on who you are in a world that only wants to beat you down. As far as new year’s resolutions go, I’m not sure they get much better than that.
“I'm not scared of her.
– You should be, she's dangerous.
So am I…”
