When I first saw the trailers for this I thought it had huge potential for being a really sweet story. It had elements of Finding Neverland and it was a story not told before from this perspective and really the entire story around Winnie The Pooh and AA Milne and his son is very interesting. The concept is good and the performances are good but the script and direction lacks something significant. It ends up being about the same level as a made-for-TV film that is interesting enough but really lacks depth and feels like it skirts over a lot of the more interesting aspects. It covers everything from Milne's idea and creation of Winnie The Pooh and the characters into Milne's jealousy of his son and his celebrity status.
Domhnall Gleeson is an excellent actor and I think he portrays parts of Milne very well especially the PTSD and harsher sad but he lacks a certain softness that I have to believe was necessary to create this character. He just doesn't seem to capture the screen well with charisma. Margot Robbie is hardly necessary in her role. I believe she's considered a hot up and comer at the very least and she's barely in the film with no character depth at all. The chemistry between her and Gleeson is non existent good or bad. Will Tilston plays the role of Christopher Robin for most of the film. He is very good. He easily outshines Gleeson and Robbie and seems to really fit the role well. He's probably the reason to watch the movie honestly. Second to him Kelly Macdonald is quite good as Christopher Robin's nanny Olive. She definitely has the most emotional scenes and her story with him is probably the best portrayed and fun to watch.
Simon Curtis is anything but new to directing. He's had a long history in British Television and some well liked films but interestingly, my experience with him is that I always find his efforts underwhelming. I felt like Woman in Gold and My Week With Marilyn both felt less effective than they should have been. This is an interesting story about a massively well known person and world and I think this film doesn't even scratch the surface. It's a basic film that is okay but won't blow you away. I feel like it had a lot of potential but never pans out. It's okay. 7/10
