5 Days of Reviewmas 🎄 - Day #1 - Goodbye Christopher Robin Review 🎬

Hello there Internet!

I hope you are doing well wherever you are in the world today 🌏

First things first, happy festive season to everyone 🎅🎅🎅. I know it has been December for a while, but I haven't officially talked about it in any of my recent posts until now.

I'm going to be honest though, I'm not feeling that Christmassy yet 😯 All I've really done is buy a very snazzy Xmas t-shirt, and my family's tree went up yesterday. Better late than never, am I right?

But I'm not too worried, I've still got a week to get fully immersed in the festiveness 🎄🎄🎄.

In the run-up to the big day on the 25th, a lot of people on YouTube especially tend to do their own version of a thing called Vlogmas. Basically, you post some form of video content for as many days in December as you can.

So, I decided to be completely unoriginal and jump on the bandwagon... a little bit. You've read the title of this post, you know where this is going 😏

Welcome to Reviewmas 😀 Today, tomorrow, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday - I will be giving you a new review of something completely un-Christmas related, but still pretty awesome.

I thought it was a great idea to cross some things off my need-to-review list, give y'all some more content, and end the year on a productive note 👍👍👍 I hope you enjoy it too 💙

Today is Day #1, and it's a film review of Goodbye Christopher Robin 💛 Here we go...

The historical drama Goodbye Christopher Robin is a wholesome yet heart-wrenching take on the life and inspiration behind the much-loved world of Winnie the Pooh.

Playwright A.A. Milne (Domhnall Gleeson) swapped the high society of London for the quiet English countryside after his time fighting in the war leaves him craving a new kind of life. It is here that he begins to craft a handful of tales about his son Christopher Robin’s collection of stuffed animals and the adventures they go on together.

These tales were eventually published as the stories of “Winnie the Pooh” and “The House at Pooh Corner” in the late 1920s. The world instantly fell in love, and the Milne’s are swept up in the fame and success.

But for all the happiness that Pooh and his friends brought readers, the same might not have been said for the family that created him.

The boy and his bear that started it all....

Now, my mum read me the Winnie the Pooh stories growing up. Consequently, I was incredibly intrigued to see the story behind this wonderful world of stuffed animals. But I was also a little bit nervous. Was this going to ruin some cherished childhood memories?

Safe to say, I had a lot of concerns. I was already emotionally invested in the film before I walked in the door. But I wasn’t ready for how deeply I connected with this film; and I absolutely loved it.

It’s a powerful piece of cinema. You can’t help but ride the emotional rollercoaster with the characters, and the success of this interpretation stems from how much your heart hurts when you walk out. Trust me, it’s a lot.

One of the main reasons for this was the air of quaint nostalgia that shadowed the main narrative. It felt very quaint, and the 1930s English countryside property where the Milne’s reside was very beautiful.

Milne and his son go on adventures in the woods, creating the experiences that would shape the world of Winnie the Pooh.

I especially enjoyed the lushness of the woods and the sweeping views of the countryside on top of the hill were breathtaking. It was the perfect backdrop for the expressive script, and I want to live there because it looked so tranquil.

The other major strength of this film is the calibre of acting performances. This is important for such a character driven narrative, and this cast certainly didn’t disappoint.

Domhnall Gleeson gave an endearing performance as playwright father A.A. Milne. Known by his friends as “Blue”, he’s an introverted man who returned from World War I mentally shellshocked.

Milne (Gleeson) and his son playing 'Poohsticks'.

His journey was simultaneously touching and heart wrenching, and Gleeson does a stellar job at conveying the complexities of a writer who never fully understood just how powerful his words would be for generations to come.

Margot Robbie was the epitome of elegance in her role as Daphne Milne. The playwright’s wife doesn’t seem to care for country life and enjoys the perks of high society. But she was a very fragile woman behind her professional façade; perpetually afraid of losing the men she loved.

Nanny Olive (Kelly Macdonald) was equally lovable and damn good at her job. She stood her ground when she felt she could no longer be silent, but she always thought of little Christopher first. Their connection was very adorable.

Little Christopher (who preferred being called Billy) and his beloved nanny.

I have a lot of respect for her because of her loyalty and how endearing she was throughout the narrative.

Praise should also be given to illustrator extraordinaire Ernest (Stephen Campbell Moore) for being such an understanding addition to Milne’s writing process. He also went through some traumatic times while he was away at war, so it was heartwarming to see him offer support to A.A. and keep him strong.

The broad thematic centre of Goodbye Christopher Robin is family, love and childhood. But I think that there was more to this film than just an origins story.

There’s something incredibly moving about the notion of finding bliss in the darkest of times. The magic of Winnie the Pooh came from the innocence and delight that it was able to give people in amongst the poverty and devastation of a society damaged by the horrors of war.

The creative team have done well to portray the juxtaposition between the hope and the heartbreak in such a mature and balanced manner.

Whether this is a true account of Milne’s life or not, I thoroughly enjoyed this interpretation. Frank Cottrell-Boyce and Simon Vaughan’s screenplay doesn’t beat around the bush, and instead goes right for the heart in a cleverly commanding way.

Goodbye Christopher Robin is the kind of film that you watch when you want a good heart workout with great scenery. The compelling narrative and earnest creative direction reflected the chaotic world from which a ray of sunshine like Winnie the Pooh radiated.

Enduring wisdom from the writer himself.

For better or for worse, thank-you for your stories A.A. Milne.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★

So there you go, I hope you enjoyed it 🌸. Winnie the Pooh is one of my favourite childhood stories, so I knew I just had to write something on the film.

If you want to read more of my 'Reviewmas' this week, remember to follow me at @miss_memphis98 on either Instagram and/or Twitter 😀. I think it's gonna be really great 💖

Thanks so much for reading, see you tomorrow, Internet,

Love and TTFN - ta ta for now, Emily xx 🍯