Our Coven: Anjelica Huston IS The Grand High Witch
Thursday, October 31, 2013 at 12:00PM I was all about to complete "Our Coven" -- our series of holiday witch posts -- in the traditional way when I realized that this requested review of The Witches that I'd written years ago had been lost from the internet! So we must repost with a couple minor updates. I hope you'll enjoy this look back at a key film from 1990.
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
Celebrate with The Witches
Roald Dahl's macabre children's books are classics but they're resistant to movie transitions. Their memorable grotesqueries get smoothed over or the films don't get made at all. He disowned the film version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The most successful adaptations are James and the Giant Peach and Fantastic Mr Fox. Before those animated films arrived, Nicolas Roeg transferred The Witches to celluloid. The resulting film is a seldom discussed oddity that's primarily remembered for an overacheiving star turn from Angelica Huston who plays the Grand High Witch, "the most evil woman in creation".
The Witches sets itself apart from other children's fantasy films straightaway. It begins with an grandmother/grandson conversation which is notable for its matter of fact harshness. This grandmother (Mai Zetterling) isn't at all concerned with giving her grandson Luke (Jasen Fisher) nightmares. She simply lays out all the ways in which you can spot witches and details how they do away with unsuspecting children. Adding to the frankess of her storytelling is the handheld camera work which is used in several scenes. It's hard to miss because you don't often see it in children's films, which are invariably slick. The camera choices contribute to the movies roughness which suits the material in tone but doesn't always add up in entertainment value. What's onscreen seems hampered by a limited budget: the sets don't have a lot of character, many scenes look flat, and some visual effects are too lo-fi. The entire budget seems to have been directed to the makeup effects which, to be fair, are very successful as they're both creepily sick and sickly funny. Yet, given the over produced nature of many successful children's films; Lemony Snicket, Harry Potter, The Cat in the Hat, The Grinch and the rest tend to err on the side of overkill, this might be points in The Witches favor depending on your point of view.
Divisive reactions to the storytelling and production values aside, there's one element that's a complete and total success: Anjelica Huston. The Boston, Los Angeles, and National Society of Film Critics all awarded Huston with their Best Actress prizes that year (in all three cases the award was also for her Oscar nominated lead role in The Grifters). When Huston first arrives in the film, outside of the hotel where the bulk of the film's actions takes place, she's greeted with a sudden swelling of the film's score. It's entirely redundant since you'd never miss Huston's unconventional powerful screen presence - she pumps up the volume all on her own. From her very first lines and tunnel visioned haughtiness its clear that she's having a ball with the role, and making very specific imaginative choices. She zeroes in on "the most evil woman in creation" tag and wears it with pride. Not for this fearless actress a glimmer of humanity, then. She comes across as completely alien, barely able to hide her contempt or impatience with anyone --witch or human-- who isn't somehow reflecting or contributing to her malevolent gleeful pride in her own diabolic plans.
The Witches' best remembered scene and pivotal centerpiece is an evil witch convention presided over by the Grand High Witch wherein she details her plans to turn all of England's children into mice. In the wrong hands this scene could get lost in its cartoon wackiness or the actor could get buried by the impressive makeup, but Huston is as much in charge of this movie as the Grand High Witch is in charge of the assembled women. Huston lets loose with all her imperious screen power and comic skill, and her lengthy silly monologue is a creepy uninhibited hoot.
In addition to this spellbinding and twisted turn, this same year she conjured up the exceptionally hard but wounded Lily in The Grifters, a cold mother and lifelong criminal. (Apologies to Kathy Bates and her wonderful spin on an unhinged fan in Misery but Huston should've won the Oscar) She followed these two meaty roles with a lauded comic turn as Morticia Addams in the Addam Family films. If you'd like you can even view her Morticia performance as a sweetened fusion of her two peak performances from 1990: misguided parenting with a touch of the macabre and an appreciation of the sinister.
Sadly, once you've seen the enduring special effect of Huston's work in this terrific scene the movie loses steam. The Grand High Witch turns Luke and his new friend Bruno into mice (as a prelude to her overreaching plan), and the rest of the film spends far too much time on their silly mousecapades as they try to thwart her evil plan from unfolding. Despite the odd pacing and a general lack of visual finesse including the movies overreliance on grotesque tilted closeups (to show off the excellent makeup work one supposes) the Witches is worth a look. It's often just strange enough to feel like a memorable children's book come to life. The makeup and puppetry effects are rather fun and even when they seem too low-fi for their own good they have an innocent charm to them (will today's CGI imagery, despite feeling cold and overused, take on a nostalgic warmth once it too becomes passￃﾩ?). You'll also see a very early Jane Horrocks performance --The "AbFab" women weren't the first witches she worked for onscreen --and the feature film debut of Brenda Blethyn (Secrets & Lies) as the mother of a boy turned into a mouse.
Most of all the movie is worth seeing for Angelica Huston's inimitable comic terror. Consider a double feature with The Grifters and you'll marvel at a star at the absolute peak of her powers. She'll make you uncomfortable. She'll make you laugh. She'll leave you anxious for every new scene. She'll have you plotting against Hollywood for not casting her more often or failing to properly use her when she does show up to work.
Reader Comments (13)
Wonderful review of a stellar performance. For me, Anjelica Huston is the standout of a very strong generation of actresses, and I'm saddened that she hasn't enjoyed the career renaissance that some of her contemporaries have.
I would have given her the 1990 Best Actress Oscar for 'The Grifters' and the Supporting Actress prize for the 'The Witches.'
She would be a hoot to see alongside Jessica Lange/Kathy Bathes/Angela Bassett in American Horror Story: Coven.
:)
Hollywood never knew how to utilize the full potential of her gifts. Soon after her awards appeal sharply diminished. She's still here but in a less relevant to them capacity.
She always tends to steal scenes in every movie she's in. I still can't believe she didn't get more mentions for her great performance in 50/50.
Oh man I loved this movie so much when I was kid. Haven't seen it in a long time though.
Terrific write-up. I love her, and I agree with others that she has been wasted by Hollywood. She had a great supporting role in Lonesome Dove, which showed her capable, softer side and, in Seraphim Falls, a strange but effective character turn.
This movie is crazy, like all Dahl adaptations, but a family favorite.
Let's talk about how crazy it is that somebody let Nicolas Roeg make a movie aimed at children. It was an adapted Dahl and terrifying but it was a story, nonetheless, aimed at kids.
This line:
"Consider a double feature with The Grifters and you'll marvel at a star at the absolute peak of her powers"
made me think: can you start doing a Double Feature series where you encapsulate a performer's range with just two films? I would love that!
Another reason that makes Angelica Huston such a great onscreen witch is her great ability to throw shade at an Oscar ceremony. (Hint: Whoopi Goldberg's Oscar Youtube clip @ 1:20.)
Love Anjelica! here is my recent review of THE WITCHES: http://lasttimeisawdotcom.wordpress.com/2012/08/26/thewitches1990/
I remember requesting this review! Good times. I should watch The Witches again, haven't in a while...
Those who will be in the San Francisco Bay Area this Halloween (2014) can see 'The Witches' as part of an 'Altered Realities' film series being shown Friday evenings in October at the Mechanics Institute Library:
http://www.milibrary.org/events/cinemalit-film-series
I can see how some people can enjoy the film, but the film becomes pretty bad when you compare it to Dahl's original novel. Roald Dahl actually hated the film so much he stood outside theaters shouting for people not to see the film. I hope Gulliermo Del Toro's remake comes to be eventually.
By the way, if Del Toro is looking for the perfect Grand High Witch, might I suggest Rosamond Pike?