In a sentenceA school musical whose children look more qualified to run the place than the staff
Matilda Wormwood (Alisha Weir) is a brilliant child surrounded by adults who have little patience for her. Her parents, Mr. Wormwood (Stephen Graham) and Mrs. Wormwood (Andrea Riseborough), provide little encouragement. At school, Agatha Trunchbull (Emma Thompson) makes authority a matter of intimidation, while Miss Honey (Lashana Lynch) offers kindness. Matilda wants to be heard and to make her own decisions, but the grown-ups expect obedience. With Miss Honey as an ally and other children facing the same cruelty, she begins to question why being bigger should mean having the last word.
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An energetic, moving family musical, led with assurance by Alisha Weir and softened by Lashana Lynch’s kindness. The children are worth the noise, though the staging sometimes needs to leave them alone.
Matthew Warchus’s Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical is a funny, moving family film with an occasional need to calm down. Its anger at bullying gives the singing and dancing a purpose, and the children never seem like decoration around the adult stars. The rebellion matters because the cruelty is allowed to feel unpleasant, even when it comes dressed as a joke. We recommend it, with a caveat about the busy staging and a running time of 117 minutes that could use a trim.
Alisha Weir makes Matilda Wormwood clever without making her smug, which is crucial when the adults are working so hard to be grotesque. She gives the defiance some vulnerability; we can believe that being right does not make being bullied any easier. Lashana Lynch’s Miss Honey is equally important, bringing a gentleness that does not look weak beside all the shouting. We were moved by their scenes together, because Lashana Lynch makes taking a child seriously feel like an enormous relief.
Emma Thompson plays Agatha Trunchbull with a physical commitment that makes the comedy faintly alarming. The exaggeration works because she never asks us to find the woman harmless underneath it, and the threat gives the children’s defiance something substantial to resist. Stephen Graham and Andrea Riseborough, as Mr. Wormwood and Mrs. Wormwood, make a cheerfully garish pair of parents. Their broadness gives Alisha Weir plenty to react to, and she does not have to match their volume to hold our attention.
The children are most persuasive when the film lets them work together. “School Song” is a good example: the tightly organised dancing makes them seem capable and resourceful without rubbing out their mischief. Tat Radcliffe’s mobile camera helps carry that energy across the screen, although its showier movements sometimes distract from the performers we came to watch. We would rather have a clearer view of the steps than another camera move.
Christian Huband and David Hindle give the sets an angular severity, with enough colour to keep the ugliness from becoming oppressive. Those shapes suit the exaggerated performances and make the surroundings feel as forceful as the adults. Christopher Nightingale’s music helps sustain the momentum, though its gentler passages are especially welcome in a film so eager to keep us stimulated. The tenderness registers more clearly when the surrounding bustle eases.
Dennis Kelly’s screenplay is less secure when it has to carry the story between the musical numbers. The story within the story feels laboured, asking for patience just when we want to stay with Matilda and the people immediately around her. Melanie Oliver’s editing does not quite solve that unevenness: the ensemble passages move briskly, but elsewhere the theatrical pacing hangs on. The digressions are the likeliest place for attention to wander.
Against the family-film habit of softening every difficult feeling, the willingness to let children be angry is welcome. Matthew Warchus also trusts Alisha Weir and Lashana Lynch to make kindness interesting, which is harder than making a bully noisy. Their companionship provides some reassurance without making the cruelty feel trivial. For younger children unsettled by bullying, some company on the sofa may matter more than the PG certificate.
Most critics find Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical an energetic, enjoyable adaptation, with praise clustering around its young cast and musical numbers. Alisha Weir’s assured Matilda and the children’s tightly coordinated choreography are recurring strengths. Emma Thompson’s grotesque, physically comic Miss Trunchbull also wins widespread approval, while several reviews value the tenderness Lashana Lynch brings to Miss Honey. Tim Minchin’s witty songs earn praise for both their bite and their poignancy.
The spread is broad, ranging from wholehearted enthusiasm to complaints that the adaptation is merely serviceable. Reservations centre on overstretched length, theatrical pacing and staging that sometimes distracts from the performers or overwhelms the songs. Thompson is not universally admired: /Film considers her casting misguided despite recommending the film. Collider offers a more fundamental dissent, finding it dull and tonally inconsistent, though even that review praises the children’s choreography.
O'Sullivan finds the film’s best moments extraordinary, despite some conventional choices. She especially praises Emma Thompson’s haunting, eccentric performance as Miss Trunchbull.
Read the full review →Ide finds the adaptation immensely enjoyable despite its slightly overstretched length. She praises Alisha Weir’s assured performance and Emma Thompson’s game portrayal of Miss Trunchbull.
Read the full review →The review presents the film as a delight and an impressive musical adaptation. It praises the transformation of Dahl’s story about a brilliant little girl into a brilliant big musical.
Read the full review →O’Hara finds the adaptation entertaining overall, though its length and theatrical pacing sometimes drag. She particularly praises Alisha Weir’s performance and Emma Thompson’s threatening, grotesque turn as Trunchbull.
Read the full review →Lane finds the film an energetic, enjoyable adaptation whose themes of abuse and rebellion suit Dahl’s grotesque comic world. He especially praises the children’s screen presence, led confidently by Alisha Weir.
Read the full review →Lodge finds the adaptation lively and likable, though it lacks the cinematic dynamism to become a classic. He singles out Emma Thompson’s exuberant, physically comic Miss Trunchbull as the film’s chief triumph.
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The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T. · not reviewed yetAnother musical nightmare of adult authority, with stranger rooms and equally resourceful children.
Kiki's Delivery ServiceA young heroine finds independence through work, friendship and adults prepared to listen.
The Secret Garden · not reviewed yetFor the quieter pleasure of watching neglected children find companionship and confidence.
The Red Balloon · not reviewed yetChildhood fantasy told with few words, where kindness and cruelty remain close neighbours.
Sing Street · not reviewed yetFor older children, another case of music making an oppressive school more bearable.
