Too much of everything

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

As a kid, I was always the misunderstood outcast who was far different than everyone else. I was teased and bullied because I was slightly overweight and I had intelligence that had others feel intimidated. Ever since then, I have been drawn to movies where the victim gets revenge on his/her attackers in ingenious ways. For as long as I can remember, I have always been a big fan of "Matilda" and it is something that I would recommend to anyone who has troubles with bullies in school.From the day she was born, Matilda was the shunned one and her brother Michael was always looked at like a golden boy...almost literally. As she got older, she became able to look out for herself without help from her mindless, ignorant parents (Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman). She became able to read at an adult level by the time she was 4 and stunned the librarian while angering her father at the same time.At 6, she has longed to go to school but her father won't let her because he's running a shady business out of his car dealership and needs her as his makeshift go-between to sign for "packages." It as at that point that Matilda (Mara Wilson) discovers that she is able to move things with her mind, also known as telekinesis. When she is finally "allowed" to go to school, she continues to wow her teacher Miss Honey (Embeth Davidtz) while drawing the scorn of her tyrannical principal Agatha Trunchbull (Pam Ferris) as well.As time wears on, she makes friends and becomes very close to Miss Honey while doing her best to dodge barbs by Miss Trunchbull. The unwavering little girl then discovers that she and her family are being watched by investigators (Paul "Pee Wee Herman" Reubens and Tracey Walter) who are determined to bring her father down. She does everything in her power (literally) to slow them down but it is not good enough.By the time all is said and done, Miss Trunchbull is ousted from the school for good while Matilda's parents and her brother flee the country, leaving the young soul in the care of Miss Honey. There are no hard feelings, of course, seeing as how her parents and brother couldn't have cared less about her.From start to finish, "Matilda" is a classic that will warm your heart. It has some priceless laughs in between, but what more can you expect with a child with telekinesis who uses it to get even with her bullies? While I have never read the book of this by Roald Dahl, I can only imagine that it is just as good.If you've got kids who are constantly being bullied in school, show this to them to send a message that they are not alone. As the title of my review states, cruelty has no age limit. Kids, adults, it doesn't matter. There are some who are more cruel than others. It is just that simple.

I remember seeing this film as a child, and I enjoyed it to bits. It even had me jumping of my couch due to the horrible school principal, as Matilda was inside her house searching for the "treasure" – that was probably the best part of the movie. It's a real shame we barely see any children as bright as Matilda in this film, but one thing is for sure that Matilda is a huge inspiration. I'm just amazed this is now over two decades old, but the magical thing about it is that it never seems to get old – how the irony.

I love this movie and look forward to seeing the Broadway production next year. Mara Wilson is such a precocious little star. I generally dislike kid actors but could watch her forever. Roald Dahl brings us a host of quirky characters who are often symbols of a society that isn't much fun for kids. Danny Devito and Rhea Perlman are Matilda's dysfunctional parents who treat her like dirt. She has two gifts: and indomitable spirit and telekinesis. She finally is allowed to go to school, but the school she attends is a nightmare where Miss Trunchbull, an ex-hammer throwing Olympian is in charge. She abuses the children physically and mentally. Eventually, it's going to come down to Matilda and this woman. Matilda enlists her teacher, Miss Honey, who finally gives her the things she needs, love and respect. Of course, Miss Honey is going to pay a price for her aid to the little girl.

Roald Dahl wrote books and stories that could inspire and embolden children (and for that matter, adults) to challenge a daunting world in which bullies, tyrants and other malefactors would seek to oppress and manipulate them. "Matilda" (the book) is a tour de force by the author, presenting his "child-empowering" politics in the most realistic, relatable setting of any of his most popular novels."Matilda" the movie grinds Dahl's crafty, subversive story and his ability to write such a story into "Nightmare on Elm Street" for the grammar school and pre-teen set. Dahl's novel, which with its scant, succinct, read-in-a-couple-of-hours subtlety, nuance and subversion matches the entire "Harry Potter" canon, is ironically the victim of the very authoritarianism it encorages subverting. "Matilda" the movie contains so many revisions and diminishments to and of Dahl's story as to be a completely different tale. The text "Based on..." in the credits of a movie has become so common that few people give any thought to the source material. In the case of "Matilda" the movie vs. "Matilda" the book this is not only unfortunate, it is a dis-service to their children and to any parents who value having their children learn, understand and engage in critical thinking. And the possible "Spoilers" begin:---1)"Matilda" the book: Matilda is the daughter/sister of shallow, materialistic, vacuous parents and brother; the worst possible common-denominator of the "Me Generation" of the 1980's. They are not the inevitable result of their era, the Wormwoods have made choices that result in both their vapidity and perhaps as counter-balance, Matilda. ---1A)"Matilda" the movie: Matilda is the daughter/sister of cartoons. One-dimensional, stupid to the point of begging the viewer to question how such adults could achieve adulthood much less be thriving, these caricatures raise the first of many questions: Where is the cleverness, the craftiness Dahl provides the Wormwoods? ---2)"Matilda" the book: Matilda's reading exposes her to thought processes, ideas, concepts, motives not generally available to elementary school age children. Her favorite author is Charles Dickens, and from him and other writers she develops an intuitive understanding that the world is not in balance. ---2A)"Matilda" the movie: Matilda reads voraciously, but what does she learn from that reading?---3) "Matilda" the book: Ah-Ha! A critical idea emerges; Matilda, through her reading has obtained crucial insight into adult motives, behavior, actions. She develops the understanding that size and age are not impervious barriers to ethical and moral actions. ---3B) "Matilda" the movie: Matilda is inspired by her amoral, criminal father to consider the possibility that she (a child) is as much a person (and therefore as powerful) as any adult.An aside: Which is more potent, more effective, more persistent, sustainable? Insight or information?---4) "Matilda" the book: Matilda makes scant use of her "powers." ---4A) "Matilda" the movie: Matilda dances about, moving furniture, controlling electrical switches, ad infinitum... and directly relevant to... ---4.b) "Matilda" the book: the first time Matilda seeks to demonstrate her powers to Miss Honey, she succeeds. Miss Honey is never, ever doubtful of Matilda's abilities. ---4.A.b) "Matilda" the movie: Matilda is unsuccessful in her early attempt to demonstrate her ability to Miss Honey. And the "Hollywood-ization" of "Matilda" takes it first big step.---5A) "Matilda" the movie: the entire, long, drawn out episode of Matilda psychically invading Trunchbull's (yes, I know) house is contrived. No version of it exists in Dahl's book. This sequence is the most shameless, pandering and demeaning scene in the film (although it has credible competition for this dishonor). ---5) "Matilda" the book: Nothing like this scene occurs in Dahl's novel, for good reason. Matilda's power, its existence and her use of it is, as will be evidenced at the story's end, purposeful, deliberate...righteous.An aside: In "Matilda" the movie Matilda has magic powers which she maintains after the story's climax. In "Matilda" the book, Matilda is never able to manifest her telekinetic ability after she rectifies the wrongs committed against Miss Honey. I suggest that the movie's ending is much less "spiritual" than Dahl intended.---6) "Matilda" the book: Having overcome Trunchbull and redressing the wrongs committed against Miss Honey, Matilda never again manifests her telekinesis, suggesting the ability was specific to a situation...that is, spiritual. ---6B) "Matilda" the movie: Matilda continues to demonstrates telekinetic ability, which would beg the questions "What will a human with such power do?," "How will Matilda affect and influence the world?," etc., etc., etc..And lastly, but not "leastly:"---7B) "Matilda" the movie: In Dahl's book Matilda is never mean or malicious. The treatment of Trunchbull at the film's climax depicts an act of vengeance severely out of character with Matilda's nature and her manifestation of her telekinetic ability. It is consistent with the "Hollywood-ization" of the story in that it provides a slapstick, child-pleasing and child-accessible conclusion. ---7A) "Matilda" the book: Matilda earns an understanding of empowerment, but also learns that the power she had and used was a metaphor for being responsible, intelligent, clever, wise, compassionate...all the traits she sought in the adults around her.Even granting that the movie versions of books are generally criticized for the liberties, variances and accommodations that are part of "getting the movie made," Matilda, the movie, is too much a violation of its source to be worthy of viewing.