‘The Golden Compass’ (2007) vs. ‘His Dark Materials’ (2019—)

May 6, 2022 | Dara Marie | @thornfield_lane

Unlike most of my friends and 90% of the people I’ve met on Bookstagram and Booktok, I’m not huge into fantasy. I got disappointed by a few books around when my huge middle school–high school reading slump happened, so I had a bad taste in my mouth for a while. Classic books and realistic fiction were what brought me out of it, and that’s been my ‘comfort’ reading zone since. 

That being said, I am obsessed with Phillip Pullman’s fantasy trilogy, His Dark Materials. While I’d heard about both the tv show and film before, I had never read it or found much interest until last summer. I have since gone on to become a massive fan and if we ever talk, chances are I’ll end up persuading you to read or watch it in some capacity. 

The series’ first book, which I’ll be focusing on today, is The Northern Lights, published in the UK in 1995. When it was published the following year in the US, it was called The Golden Compass. I don’t know why but I usually refer to it as Northern Lights since that’s the version I own. 

Northern Lights or The Golden Compass takes place in a parallel world that resembles a steam-punk version of the 1950s. There everyone has a daemon or an animal companion that is essentially a continuation of their soul. Orphan Lyra Belaqua and her daemon Pan have grown up in Jordan College at Oxford but are eager to leave and explore. They get their chance, but under much darker circumstances than expected or desired. She’ll have to team up with outcasts, aeronauts, witches, and bears to keep her friends safe from the clutches of the oppressive Magesterium. 

It’s fantastic. I loved it from page one. 

It has been adapted multiple times for radio, stage, television, and film. Today, I’m going to look at two of the best-known adaptations:

The golden Compass (2007)

Funnily enough, I remember when this movie came out. I was six years old and at the movies with my brothers and mom. I believe we were seeing an animated Star Wars movie. There was a big cardboard cut out of Lyra riding on Iorek (a talking, armored polar bear for those unfamiliar with the series) at the theatre’s entrance. I even remember seeing the trailer. For some reason, it didn’t strike my family’s interest so we never saw it, but that image of Lyra on Iorek stuck with me. When I finally was introduced to these books years later, I said “Oh, it’s that.” 

Fifteen years later, I have finally seen the film.

There’s a lot to enjoy here. For starters, it has some big names in the cast including Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Ian McKellen, Eva Green, Christopher Lee, Derek Jacobi, and Sam Elliot. The characters Ma Costa and Lee Scorsbey look as though they jumped from the book: exactly as described. I really loved Eva Green as the witch queen Serafina Pekala. I feel she perfectly matches the character’s ethereal nature. I love the before-mentioned Iorek and was beyond thrilled when he showed up and Gandalf’s voice came out of his mouth. 

Beyond the cast, it even won an Academy Award for best visual effects. The fictional world is filled with high-tech machines that build a very ‘sci-fi’ atmosphere. For instance, the famous photogram sequence where Azriel reveals photos of a city in the northern lights was captivating. 

The book gripped me instantly due to Lyra’s characterization and the anecdotes of her chaotic life, and this film set up those first several chapters incredibly well. I loved seeing the ‘wars’ between the Oxford and Gyptian children and her climbing all over the chairs in the grand hall when no one was looking. 

Lyra’s cheekiness shines through in moments like that. Perhaps it was her age or poor directing, but Dakota Blue Richard’s acting often felt stilted and weird. But, man, when she hit the mark she hit it out of the park. Had she been able to hone into that throughout the entire performance, I would have no complaints. 

But I do have complaints. One of the most intriguing relationships in the story is between Lyra and Mrs. Coulter. In the book, she is practically in love with Mrs. Coulter at first because it’s everything she wants to be: independent, an explorer, intelligent, taken seriously. When Mrs. Coulter shows slips up on her ‘perfect’ act to reveal her true nature, it’s devastating. That betrayal fuels events throughout the trilogy. And I didn’t get that in this film. I felt no chemistry between the two characters. When Lyra began standing back and eventually grew to hate her, I didn’t understand why. 

That being said, Nicole Kidman as the devious Mrs. Coulter was stellar casting. She shows the character’s manipulating act well. I loved the way she commanded an entire room upon entering and essentially gaslighted the master of Jordan college to let her take Lyra: yeah, basically; any questions? Even so, there was just something missing. It took me a while to put my finger on it but I think it’s that she doesn’t ‘tick’. We don’t have moments where we say, “Oh, you know there’s something not quite right with her.” I said something similar in my post last Friday about Dracula Untold. It’s very important for all characters, but especially villains and antagonists. What breaks them? When do they ‘slip up’ and how? 

As I’ve mentioned, daemons are very important in this world. A perosn’s interaction with their daemon is essentially their interaction with themselves. Mrs. Coulter ignores, silences, and even abuses her golden monkey daemon at times. In the film, there’s one moment when Mrs. Coulter slaps her monkey. “Yes!” I was thinking, “There we go, let’s see some ‘real’ Mrs. Coulter.” But then, ho-ho–but then, the monkey walks over to her with a lowered head like a scolded toddler and she embraces it, soothing it.

NO. Absolutely NOT. Stop it. You were so close–so close!–to giving me a realistic view into this character and then blew it. You just completely undermined such a complex important relationship for a moment of catharsis. I had to wait for three whole books to get a fraction of that from the books! And you give it to me tenfold just like that an hour into the film? No! Stop it. 

Plotwise, I think that’s this film’s main downfall: trying too hard to dumb it down. Part of this comes from trying to make the film family-friendly despite its PG-13 rating. While classified as children’s fiction, it certainly crosses the line more than once. The books are a balance of “Oh, this is such a fun, happy kid’s story,” to, “Oh, my gosh this is so graphic, a seven-year-old should not be reading this.” They cut out a few of the more intense parts (yet keep others? I don’t know. I didn’t fully understand the thought process behind every decision in this adaptation.) for the sake of inclusivity. The stakes didn’t feel nearly as high as they should be. 

The other reason for it feeling ‘dumb downed’ is its runtime. It has two hours to tell a four hundred-page story. For some novels such as Pride and Prejudice, that might be enough. But a lot happens in the book that needs time to explain. The movie’s first few minutes feel like an avalanche of world-building prologue getting shoved down your throat. It rushes through everything and even with that, cuts out the last two chapters. The studio had intended to adapt the whole trilogy but I find that hard to believe when they didn’t even set up for a sequel (those last chapters are what makes it a series rather than a stand-alone). 

I’m honestly surprised it won an award for its visuals because I kinda hated them. It felt very early ‘2000s’ with saturated, cheesy CGI. Don’t even get me started on Mrs. Coulter’s golden monkey: that thing is a demon from hell, my gosh it’s disgusting. 

So, overall, how is it? 

Not terrible. But by no means amazing. 

It’s an appetizer to wet your pallet. Watching it just made me want to watch the tv show again, and I’d literally just finished watching the first season full through for the third time (my boyfriend had never seen it and so I had to do the good girlfriend thing and eradicate that). 

On that note, let’s move into the second part of this review: 

His Dark Materials (2019—)

I am well aware I am biased on this topic because, as I mentioned, I’ve seen the first season three times full through (in less than a year, I might point out. *nervous laughter*). This series is the reason I got into the books at all. A friend recommended the show to me and after sampling a random scene from the second season, I knew I had to read it. I ordered the books that very night and here we are. 

This show is phenomenal. 

The effects, cinematography, script, and soundtrack are top-of-the-line, spot-on. It’s all-around visually stunning.

Now, it’s time for some name dropping:

I am a massive Hamilton fan so when I heard Lin Manuel-Miranda was Lee Scrosby in this, I didn’t know how to feel. He certainly doesn’t match the book description, but he is a fun version of the character. I love the first episode we see him in because of his charisma and charm. Musical acting and film acting is very different, so I doubted whether he’d be up to the task. Let me tell you, he is. There’s a scene in the second season that left me in awe of him and asking, “Why have you been holding out?” 

James McAvoy as Lord Asriel is brilliant. Originally, he wasn’t cast in the role. Their other actor fell through and he was brought on last minute. Let’s all thank the universe for that. He steps into the role so naturally. I can’t wait to see more of him in the final season (particularly excited to see more scenes between Azriel and Mrs. Coulter). 

Dafne Keen is an amazing Lyra. I didn’t love everything about her performance in the first season, but I felt she resembled my image of the character more in the second season with her performance. She rises to the occasion in every scene and doesn’t shy away from the harder emotions. I’ll look forward to watching her career as she grows up.

The before mentioned scene I watched that led me to buy the books was a Mrs. Coulter scene. You need only see a snippet of her in this show to understand why. Ruth Wilson is a goddess of acting, I’m convinced of it. She blew me away as Jane Eyre but utterly destroyed me as Mrs. Coulter. Her nonverbals convey so much more than could ever be on the page. There are so many sides to her I’m still trying to work out. She steals every scene she’s in. She is the villain book fans deserve. Nicole Kidman walked so Ruth Wilson could run. 

As I mentioned, the books can be very intense and the show did not shy away from that. They linger on some of the darker moments without being graphic. I especially love how they dive deeper into Mrs. Coulter’s twisted psychology. Some of my favorite scenes are ones just between Mrs. Coulter and her monkey that have limited dialogue but speak volumes about the character’s inner struggles. 

The second book starts in a different world with a different main character. I was seriously confused and thought I was reading the wrong book for a few chapters until Will finally meets Lyra. The show planned ahead and wove in the second novel’s beginning so the transition between plots was seamless. I honestly really appreciate it. It won a lot of points in its favor when I first watched it. To me, it shows that they’re in this for the long haul. They’re really wanting to do all they can to make a satisfying adaptation. Thank you, show creators. Other show creators, feel free to take notes. 

The biggest thing the show has on the movie is time. The film had thirty-three minutes to get through what two episodes of the show did. They dedicated a whole season to each book. The first season had eight episodes while the second has seven. (I’ve heard rumor the third season will have seven episodes as well, but I’m hoping for eight. I’ll take as much as I can get). With so much time, the show is able to not only show practically everything in the novels but expand on them. There are numerous expanded scenes and interactions that lead to infinite depths. That, for me, is everything an adaptation should do. I loved seeing more of the Gyptians, more of Will from the second book, and even how they set up the Magisterium. There are foreshadowings throughout; two quick moments in the second and third episodes set up something that happens towards the end of the third book. (For the sake of staying spoiler-free, I cannot disclose which scenes they are. All I will say is that, if you know you know and I’ll join you to sob in the corner). 

I believe the biggest complaint is that it might not be 100% viewer-friendly for someone who hasn’t read the books. I watched it for the first time with my best friend who’d already seen it but hadn’t read the books. She was asking me questions throughout to clarify aspects of the world and plot points. When I saw it the second time with my roommate who had also read the books, she asked at one point, “How does this make sense to anyone who hasn’t read them?” 

My suggestion: read them. Or, be brave. Dive in and see what you can work out on your own. I believe in you. 

Do, I have a favorite? Yes. Yes, I do. I adore the show and will never stop recommending it. But I know I’m not the only one who thinks this way. The reason I got my boyfriend to watch it with me was because of a conversation about books we had. I brought up His Dark Materials and he recognized it because he’d seen the movie as a kid. He had no idea about the show so I promptly showed him in the trailer. Afterward, I said, “So, I’ve never seen the movie–” and he jumped in with, “You don’t need to; that looks amazing!” He personally requested to watch the show the next Friday night it was his turn to pick our entertainment. 

Overall, His Dark Materials has a unique world to dive into with loveable characters and deep concepts. I recommend it in any and all mediums.
Both The Golden Compass and His Dark Materials can be streamed on HBO Max or rented/bought on Amazon Prime Video. There are currently two seasons of His Dark Materials and the third and final season is set to release later this year (ask me how excited I am!).

Are you a His Dark Materials fan? Which adaptation do you prefer? I'd love to hear from you! You can connect with me through thornfield.lane@gmail.com or on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and Twitter: @thornfield_lane.