Matilda

Matilda

        Actor/Director Danny Devito's 1996 film adaptation of Road Dahl's classic fantasy children's book, Matilda understands the very nature of childhood and it's young protagonist. Pulitzer prize winning film critic Roger Ebert spoke about the nature of Dahl's books by stating, "Road Dahl was by all accounts a singularly unpleasant person, which may explain why he wrote stories that are so fascinating to children. He nursed the grudges of childhood, mistrusted adults and he was unmoved by false sentimentality".  Matilda is a children's film but that doesn’t mean the story is solely about sunshine and roses. The Audience is introduced to the protagonist Matilda Wormwood when she is just a new born. Several shots in the film depict her parents Harry and Zima as cold, selfish and neglectful to Matilda's needs as a child. This cruelty by her parents causes Matilda to become a vivacious reader and eventually she wants to be enrolled at school. Her life is unpleasant and both her parents are con artists so she uses books as a way of escaping reality. This causes both her parents to freak out because they are not even intelligent enough to comprehend literary works such as Moby Dick. Her parents and her brother sit in front of the TV all day eating TV dinners and think that their daughter is useless trash for wanting to better herself (That’s kind of funny if you think about it). Matilda never takes no for an answer and some of the best scenes in the film are when she dyes her fathers hair, glues his hat to his head, and wreaks havoc on the Wormwoods TV. 

         Matilda is a special girl and what makes her so is that she has a certain resentment within her that gives her a true edge. She wants to be good but she also does not mind dishing out a little payback. The way Matilda is treated by her parents and later Principal Trunchball suggests that she is viewed by them as a Sinful child. Researchers Carrie Hintz and Eric Tribunella describe the sinful model of childhood by stating that adults during the early puritan settlers movement viewed kids as naturally sinful and in need of saving, so they were often brought up with harsh discipline (18).  They go onto state, "Today manifestations, of this notion of childhood sin might take more secular forms, couched in the pseudo psychological language of impulse control" (20). This notion of hidden psychological desires is manifested and portrayed in the film when Matilda begins to demonstrate telekinetic abilities. She uses these powers as a way to protect her friends and have a little fun (after all she is a seven year old). The treatment she receives from her cruel hulk of a principal, Mrs. Trunchball causes Matilda to take any measure possible to protect her friends from the abusive antagonist. Like her parents, Trunchball views Matilda as a threat, but no need to worry Matilda flips the tables on this administrative bully. What I enjoy about Matilda is that it is such a competent film. The mix of magic, drama, and cruelty is portrayed with a cinematic flair that creates a lot of fun moments in a film that deals with neglectful parents and violent principals. I love how Matilda is portrayed in a way that shows the beauty of childhood curiosity and depicts kids as wanting to learn and looking for positive role-models. 

To read Roger Ebert's original review of this film simply click, http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/matilda-1996

After destroying both her fathers hat and hair Matilda's favorite books are ripped apart right in front of her. She is forced to sit down and watch TV. She becomes frustrated and focuses all of her anger on the TV which causes it to explode. This is a good example of Matilda being viewed by her parents as a sinful child. https://youtu.be/4B5mU-Ve5t4. 

Hintz, Carrie, and Eric L. Tribunella. Reading Children's Literature: A Critical Introduction. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2013. Print.