moonspinner55 In 1932, 79-year-old Alice Hargreaves, a no-nonsense sort from England traveling with her timid female assistant, sails for New York City to receive an honorary degree from Columbia University; the school is celebrating the centenary of author Charles L. Dodgson, aka Lewis Carroll, whose literary masterpiece "Alice in Wonderland" was inspired by Hargreaves when she was but a precocious child. Impeccably-produced and designed on a limited budget, this curious drama mixes fact and fiction with a light hand...and yet, it rarely takes off emotionally. Coral Browne's adult Alice reexamines her lazy childhood days--as well as her past and present states of mind while interacting with Carroll's nonsensical creations (courtesy Jim Henson's Creature Shop)--but screenwriter Dennis Potter includes no poetry of his own in the dialogue. There are lovely moments (particularly the finale at Columbia and its tag), strong performances from Browne and Ian Holm (as the stammering Reverend Dodgson), and the film does improve slowly after a very creaky start. ** from ****

Vorple314 Watched this again tonight. Truly an exceptional movie. Love and time and death seem to be the predominate themes. A muse ripped from time and confused with the temporal wish against the universal need. An honest and pure statement of inspiration, satisfaction, frustration, and restraint against wisdom. I wish it were letter boxed on DVD for the Henson segments. Any extras would be phenomenal. Has anyone seen this in theater? It must have been a rare moment. I don't know if a soundtrack exists but it would be excellent. Everything from big band to Victorian nonsense. OK, it isn't historically accurate and Alice and Charles may have some corrective input if they were able to comment. Still, it is an exceptional, sincere, and intriguing story.

LCShackley What a strange movie this is. Is it supposed to be a cute fantasy (with clever Jim Henson puppets)? Or an expose/biography? The latter doesn't seem to be true, since there is a disclaimer at the end of the credits denying that any of the characters are real. Does anyone know whether ANY of the events of "old Alice's" life have any basis in fact? What I have read about Dodgson does indicate that he may have had an unhealthy obsession with young girls, but no evidence that he was an actual pedophile. I was afraid that Dennis Potter, who has shown in films like BRIMSTONE & TREACLE that he can wallow in the worst forms of human behavior, would turn Dodgson into a Victorian Michael Jackson (Wonderland/Neverland?). But Dodgson is a very sympathetic character, and the movie never descends into the dark side of his relationship to his young students. Portions of the film are charming.In one respect, Ian Holm was a good choice for Carroll/Dodgson, because he can project charm and innocence. But he's also the movie's biggest flaw. Holm was in his 50s when he acted the part. According to the movie's own chronology, Dodgson was only TWENTY years older than Alice, not FORTY. That extra 20 years makes the relationship with Alice seem even stranger than it already was. A suitable 30-ish actor would have reduced the "dirty old man" factor considerably.

timpuckett "Dreamchild" is a dark yet beautiful tale of an elderly woman haunted by the famous author who adored her as a child. It deals with love and fear, memories and the past, and the final recociliation of the two. Each character is succinctly and sympathetically drawn, from Lucy the young and naieve maid of the elderly Victorian Mrs. Alice Hargreaves (nee Liddell), who, on her first visit to America, cannot understand the intense attention given to her because of her connection to Lewis Carroll/Rev. Dodgson. The movie seamlessly shifts from the present (New York during the Despression) to the past (Victorian England at Oxford University). Real fans of Alice in Wonderland may object to this depiction of Wonderland characters in a harsher, angrier light; such as when the 80 year old Mrs. Hargreaves meets the Mad Hatter. The Reverend Dodgson does not stand accused as Michael Jackson or like some members of the clergy today, but Mrs. Hargreaves does ask "My mother destroyed all his letters. Why would she do that?" But the younger Alice, when asked by her mother, "Why on earth would he say that to you?" answers straighforwardly, "Because he loves me, of course." A thought provoking film worth seeing if you can find it.