MORE FAIRIES, LESS STORYTELLING WOULD MAKE A FAR BETTER `TALE'.Byline: Janet Weeks Daily News Staff Writer Look out, Tinkerbell. There's a new fairy in town. Or make that fairies. And when it comes to convincing children to believe in pixie power, these wispy-winged woodsprites might leave ol' Tink behind in a cloud of sparkling fairy dust. ``Fairy Tale fairy tale Simple narrative typically of folk origin dealing with supernatural beings. Fairy tales may be written or told for the amusement of children or may have a more sophisticated narrative containing supernatural or obviously improbable events, scenes, and personages - A True Story,'' has the most whimsical yet seemingly real fairies cinema has ever created, thanks to the behind-the-camera team that made the miniseries ``Gulliver's Travels'' an Emmy magnet for NBC NBC in full National Broadcasting Co. Major U.S. commercial broadcasting company. It was formed in 1926 by RCA Corp., General Electric Co. (GE), and Westinghouse and was the first U.S. company to operate a broadcast network. . Indeed, the minutes when the fairies appear on screen are moments of true movie magic - only the most skeptical could ward off the spell of belief cast by such precious pixies pixies prank-playing fairies; mislead travelers. [Br. Folklore: Briggs, 328–330] See : Mischievousness . Paramount Pictures is wise to display the fairies so prominently in its promotional material. What 8-year-old girl could resist a film filled with fairies frolicking in a secret glen? But, sigh, the fairies appear only sporadically - and mostly at the beginning and end. And the middle of the film - a tale of a war-torn continent struggling to believe in goodness - is often too meandering and confusing to hold attention once the fairies disappear. As the name implies, ``Fairy Tale'' is taken from a true account of two young cousins in 1917 England who claimed to have photographed fairies in a West Yorkshire West Yorkshire, former metropolitan county, N central England. Created in the 1974 local government reorganization, the county largely embraced the Leeds conurbation and comprised five metropolitan districts: Calderdale, Bradford, Leeds, Wakefield, and Kirklees. beck (or brook). The pictures made their way to E.L. Gardner (Bill Nighy
Bill Nighy (IPA: /naɪ/; born December 12, 1949) is a Golden Globe and BAFTA-award winning English actor. ), a renowned Theosophist the·os·o·phy n. pl. the·os·o·phies 1. Religious philosophy or speculation about the nature of the soul based on mystical insight into the nature of God. 2. , who toured Europe in the early 1900s lecturing about the existence of fairies and angels. Gardner, in turn, took the photos to Sherlock Holmes creator Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Peter O'Toole Noun 1. Peter O'Toole - British actor (born in Ireland in 1932) O'Toole, Peter Seamus O'Toole Emerald Isle, Hibernia, Ireland - an island comprising the republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland ), a man who created a logic-minded crime-solver but, in reality, was an avid explorer of the paranormal paranormal, adj 1. outside the realm of normal experience or scientific explanation. n 2. collective term for anomalous phenomena. . Doyle published the pictures in his Strand magazine in 1922. That brought the girls to the attention of legendary escape artist Harry Houdini (Harvey Keitel in a clinging body stocking), a master illusionist who dedicated his spare time to exposing frauds posing as mediums and psychics. So you have Doyle and Houdini - ``The X-Files'' Scully and Mulder of their day. The photos instantly became the subject of broad debate, and they landed the girls, Elsie Wright (Florence Hoath) and Frances Griffiths (Elizabeth Earl), in the spotlight of controversy, as the veracity veracity (v  ras´itē),n of their pictures came into question. It wasn't until the early 1980s that Elsie and Frances indicated some fakery. (It is now generally accepted that the girls used cardboard cutouts stuck to hat pins to create the fairies). But both women maintained a belief in fairies until their deaths and insisted they could communicate with them. In creating early 20th-century England, Emmy-winning director Charles Sturridge (``Gulliver's Travels''), costume designer Shirley Russell (an Emmy nominee for the same) and production designer Michael Howells (``Emma'') have spun their own brand of magic. The team smartly contrasts the brutal sadness of disfigured dis·fig·ure tr.v. dis·fig·ured, dis·fig·ur·ing, dis·fig·ures To mar or spoil the appearance or shape of; deform. [Middle English disfiguren, from Old French desfigurer soldiers in train stations and the happy beauty of fairies in the pristine countryside. The performances are savvy as well. Elizabeth Earl, as young Frances, brings a particularly lively touch to the girl who remains a true believer even when such beliefs get her in trouble. And the ending contains a neat surprise - an uncredited un·cred·it·ed adj. 1. Not having been credited, as on a ledger: an uncredited deposit. 2. Not having been accorded due recognition: an uncredited discovery. cameo by Mel Gibson, whose Icon Productions co-produced the film with ``Forrest Gump's'' Wendy Finerman. The problem, then, is with the story, and the blame, apparently, is shared by screenwriter Ernie Contreras (``The Pagemaster'') and ``story writers'' Albert Ash and Tom McLoughlin. The trio casts too broad a net in trying to tell the tale of not only two little girls who believe in fairies but of the industrial revolution, World War I and early 1900s spiritualism spiritualism: see spiritism. spiritualism Belief that the souls of the dead can make contact with the living, usually through a medium or during abnormal mental states such as trances. . The result is a film probably too complex for its intended audience of children and too vague for their parents. But then there are those fairies and the pure delight they bring. If only you could clap your hands and make them stay on screen longer. THE FACTS The film: ``Fairy Tale - A True Story'' (PG; but there's nothing objectionable). The stars: Florence Hoath, Elizabeth Earl, Peter O'Toole, Harvey Keitel. Behind the scenes: Directed by Charles Sturridge. Story by Albert Ash, Tom McLoughlin and Ernie Contreras. Screenplay by Contreras. Produced by Bruce Davey and Wendy Finerman. Released by Paramount Pictures. Running time: One hour, 39 minutes. Playing: Citywide. Our rating: Two and One Half Stars. CAPTION(S): Photo Photo: Florence Hoath makes conversation with her new-found friend in ``Fairy Tale - A True Story.'' |
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