Ignored by her parents, a brilliant little girl, Matilda, takes refuge in reading. The school she attends is run with an iron fist by a former Olympic athlete who hates children. The young heroine, endowed with special powers, stands up against injustice and inspires other students to do the same.
The incredible story of Matilda Wormwood, imagined by the British writer Roald Dahl and published in 1988, was adapted for the first time for the cinema in 1996. The version directed by Danny DeVito, who played the role of the dishonest father, put starring Mara Wilson, as Matilda. The adventures of the young prodigy also inspired a musical comedy, crowned with success and still presented in London, directed by Matthew Warchus, on the libretto by Dennis Kelly and the songs and music by Tim Minchin. This trio has once again joined forces to make a film adaptation of the musical, which airs on Netflix.
From the outset, a humorous musical number sets the tone, illustrating how detached the parents of little Matilda are from their baby and see his birth as a disaster. Their presence is subsequently episodic, but we understand that they despise their daughter and humiliate her, leading her to take revenge.
Young Alisha Weir, of Irish descent, is poignant in the role of Matilda, with an overflowing imagination, who suffers the pangs of downright wicked adults.
Another level of cruelty is reached when the headmistress of Crunchem Hall School, Miss Trunchbull, brilliantly played by the unrecognizable Emma Thompson, enters the game. Abusing her authority, the former athlete goes to her heart’s content to frighten students and impose its law.
Intense scenes
Some scenes are intense, faithful to the work of Roald Dahl, who himself suffered from abuse at school as a youth in 1920s England. Matilda, who has acquired telekinesis, the ability to control objects by thought, almost falls into a Stephen King work when she can’t take it anymore. She is saved thanks to the positive influence and the love of two women, a caring librarian, Mrs Phelps (Sindhu Vee), as well as a teacher who believes in her, the sweet Miss Honey (excellent Lashana Lynch), who takes under his wing despite his own difficulties. The latter also performs the most moving song (My House).
Director Matthew Warchus has a blast in scenes that oscillate between the hyperrealism of a murky school and the colorful world of Matilda’s imagination. The other children do very well in musical numbers with complex choreographies. Even if the theme of oppression at school resonates less here than in the UK, showing that it is possible to say no to bullies has an international resonance.
Watch on Netflix
Musical comedy
Matilda – The Musical
By Matthew Warchus
With Emma Thompson, Alisha Weir and Lashana Lynch
1:57 a.m.