GOODBYE, CHRISTOPHER ROBIN

UK, 2017, 107 minutes, Colour.
Domhnall Gleeson, Margot Robbie, Kelly Macdonald, Will Tilston, Alex Lawther, Stephen Campbell Moore, Richard Mc Cabe, Geraldine Somerville.
Directed by Simon Curtis.

Enjoyment of this film does not depend on whether the audience has a familiarity with the Winnie the Pooh stories or has even read them. It is said that Winnie the Pooh is the most beloved of bears (well, Paddington might be a little envious).

This is very British story and is directed by Simon Curtis, a television director whose films include the Marilyn Monroe’s story, My Week with Marilyn and the German art story, Woman in Gold.. It opens in 1916, playwright and author, A.A.Milne experiencing war in the trenches, the bombardment, the many deaths and his suffering from shellshock. On his return, he is against war, but finds it very hard to settle back to ordinary life, writing for the theatre, his relationship with his wife, Daphne. Milne is played by Irish actor Dominique all Gleeson and Daphne by Australian actor, Margot Robbie.

One of the solutions that Milne needs to recover from the war is to move to the country, Daphne rather unwilling, with their young son, Christopher Robin whom they nickname Billy. Most of the action of the film takes place when Billy is eight years old.

Billy is very cautious about disturbing his father and his writing. His father and his mother have instilled this in him. He goes for walks in the woods, has a lot of animal toys, has a strong imagination. This has been fostered by his alternate mother-figure, his Scots and nanny, Nue (Kelly Macdonald in a very sympathetic performance). At one time, they visit the zoo in London where there is a huge grizzly bear called Winnipeg, which is where nickname Winnie comes from.

At one stage, while his mother is in London, Billy goes for a walk with his father, sharing three very happy days, bonding between father and son, delight in the woods, delight in his toys, delight in animals. Billy would like his father to write a story for him. His father does. Winnie the Pooh.

The impact is immediate, books literally flying off-the-shelf. The public as well as the media can’t get enough of Christopher Robin and so the eight-year-old is subjected to innumerable interviews, autograph signings, being in the public eye, international celebrity in the United States. His father is not against it. Daphne is at pains to promote and exploit the success of the stories.

Billy is rather excited when, to get out of the limelight, his sent to boarding school. However, he is mocked there. He is bullied.

The film has started with a prologue in a melancholy tone, 1941, the telegram coming to his parents – the audience not knowing the content until the end of the film.

When Billy returns from the war, he wants to live very quietly, marries, has a family, owns a bookstore in the south-west of England, never taking any money from the royalties from Winnie the Pooh books.

This might be described as a British heritage film, re-creating the period, highlighting a writer, telling the story of a little boy, reminding audiences of the power of imagination and story.

1. England in the first part of the 20th century? Atmosphere? World War I? War in the trenches? The effect, deaths, post-traumatic stress? The 1920s, British revival?

2. The recreation of period, costumes and décor, settings? London, the theatre, homes? The countryside, the house, the interiors? The woods? The musical score?

3. The reputation of A.A. Milne? Is playwright, his book against a wall? His Winnie the Pooh stories? Domnhall Gleeson in the role, age, the war scenes, the aftermath, Milne’s career, writing, relationship with Daphne, with his son? The creation of Winnie the Pooh and the consequences?

4. The focus on Christopher Robin? His birth, aged eight, his appearance, dimples, cheerfulness? Billy, Billy Moon? His life, in the city, going to the countryside? Older, school, reactions, his military service? The aftermath of the war?

5. Milne and his inventiveness, Billy and his toys, the beer, the Tiger…? The names, the donkey? Winnie the Pooh, the visit to the zoo, the grizzly bear, Winnie and Winnipeg? Writing the stories? The publications, the enormous sales? The popularity, the media? The effect?

6. The effect of the prologue, 1941, World War II, Daphne in the garden, Milne and the message, Billy mixing in action?

7. The war sequences, brief but vivid, the trenches? The dead bodies? The shock, Milne and his return? Daphne and her reaction? Ernest and his support? Milne and his nickname blue? Reputation, scenes in the theatre, the social gatherings? His denunciations of war? The theatre, his own inability to speak, walking off? Busy, writing, Ernest and the friendship?

8. The portrait of Daphne, in herself, Margot Robbie? Is wife, love for her husband? Promoting him? Her delight in society? Having to handle Milne and his war shock? Pregnant, giving birth, the effect of her son, the depression after the birth? Giving all her attention to the baby, protection? Her wanting to be in London, the move to the countryside?

9. London life, society, theatre?

10. The decision to move to the country, Daphne’s reaction? Christopher Robin and his being called Billy? The house, having quiet for Milne to write, the various sequences in
the house, Billy upsetting his father? Billy and his toys, his imagination, the bare? The walks in the woods? His mother and her visits to London?

11. Olive, the nanny? From Scotland? Her work as a nanny? The bonding with Billy? Daphne treating her as a servant? Billy and his attachment, her going to her sick mother and his touch of tantrum? Her return? Her finding a friend, despite Daphne saying she would be single, the outings? Her being dismissed? Olive is the humanising presence in the household?

12. The three days with father and son? Moving from irritation to sharing? Daphne absent? The walks, the conversations, the animals, the experience in the woods? Billy asking for his father to write a book for him?

13. The writing of the book, the preoccupation, the focus for a children’s audience? Publication, the immediate response, scenes of the books in the shops, the shelves? The media, photography, coming to the home? The interviews, the crowds, the children, the events, autographs? The American interest?

14. Christopher Robin at eight, coping? Billy versus Christopher Robin? His father’s response to the publicity? Reputation? Value? America? Daphne, her enjoying the celebrity, promoting her son?

15. The aftermath, the effect on Billy? His going to boarding school, hopeful, thrown down the stairs, his being bullied?

16. Military training, Milne and his anti-war stances and publication of his book in 1934?

17. Billy, going to the war, the discussions with his father, his reaction about the book and celebrity? The return, the effect of the war, his parents’ reaction? Billy and his talking about the groups, anticipation of action, Winnie the Pooh and songs? Morale boosting? His apology to his father? His joyful going to visit all of?

18. The information about Billy’s life afterwards, Christopher, marriage, the bookshop, not taking any money from the royalties?