"City of Ember" Review & Trailer
| Movie: City of Ember * Official Site | In Theaters: Oct. 10, 2008 |
| Runtime: 95 minutes | Directed by: Gil Kenan |
| MPAA Rating: PG for mild peril and some thematic elements | Gecko Rating: |
When an impending doomsday threatens to wipe humanity off the face of the earth, a city called Ember is created deep underground to ensure that humans survive. Instructions for getting out when the city begins to decay are left by “The Builders” in a box that’s intended to be passed from mayor to mayor. But 200 years later, the chain has been broken, the box lost, and the instructions and city’s purpose forgotten by most.
The townsfolk live a Dickensian life in Ember, with scruffy urchins populating the grimy streets. Each person is assigned a job to keep the city going, be it working on the massive generator, delivering messages, or growing food. But when the city’s lights start to flicker and food becomes scarce, the residents begin to fear for their lives. Lina Mayfleet (Saoirse Ronan) and Doon Harrow (Harry Treadaway) are curious teens determined to find a way out of Ember before it’s too late.
More after the jump, including a trailer…
In order to succeed, they have to piece together an ancient document, find their way through the city’s crumbling pipeworks, and dodge several unsavory characters, including the city’s nefarious mayor (Bill Murray) and a giant mole determined to eat them.
“City of Ember” is based on Jeanne DuPrau’s best-selling novel, and I really hadn’t heard much about the movie before my 11-year-old daughter and I saw it this weekend. In short, we were both mesmerized by everything about this film, including the characters, the set design, the premise, and the adventure.
The acting is superb, especially Harry Treadaway and Saoirse Ronan, who wow’d audiences with her performance in “Atonement.” Their characters are helped by Doon’s dad (Tim Robbins) and Sul the pipeworks employee (Martin Landau, who’s 77 and has six movie projects in the works, not to mention a recurring role on “Entourage”!). I wasn’t as crazy about Bill Murray’s performance – it seemed like he just threw on the costume and continued to be Bill Murray.
Though my daughter and I understood from the beginning that the townsfolk would have to find a way out of Ember to survive, we had no idea how that would happen, and were left guessing to the end.
“City of Ember” is a great movie for kids 8 and older. Because of the doomsday theme and the scary giant mole, I don’t recommend it for younger kids.
Trailer:
Images: City of Ember, Fox-Walden, 2008
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