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''Come Away'' is a 2020
fantasy drama In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-ge ...
film directed by Brenda Chapman (in her live-action directional debut) and starring
David Oyelowo David Oyetokunbo Oyelowo ( ; born 1 April 1976) is a British actor, director and producer. His accolades include a Critics' Choice Award and two NAACP Image Awards as well as nominations for two Golden Globe Awards, two Primetime Emmy Awards, ...
,
Anna Chancellor Anna Theodora Chancellor (born 27 April 1965) is a British actress who has received nominations for BAFTA and Olivier Awards. Background and early life Chancellor was born in Richmond, England to barrister John Paget Chancellor, eldest son of ...
,
Angelina Jolie Angelina Jolie (; born Angelina Jolie Voight; June 4, 1975) is an American actress, filmmaker, humanitarian and former Special Envoy to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. The recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award ...
,
Clarke Peters Peter Clarke (born April 7, 1952), known professionally as Clarke Peters, is an American-British actor, writer, and director. He is best known for his roles as Lester Freamon in the television series ''The Wire'' (2002–2008) and Albert Lambre ...
,
David Gyasi David Kwaku Asamoah Gyasi (; born 2 January 1980) is a British actor. He is best known for his roles in '' Cloud Atlas'' (2012) and '' Interstellar'' (2014), as well as the lead role of Lex Carnahan in The CW miniseries ''Containment''. Early ...
, with
Gugu Mbatha-Raw Gugulethu Sophia Mbatha-Raw (; born 21 April 1983) is a British actress who is known for her performances on stage and screen. In 2017 she was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) by Queen Elizabeth II for services to drama ...
,
Michael Caine Sir Michael Caine (born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite; 14 March 1933) is an English actor. Known for his distinctive Cockney accent, he has appeared in more than 160 films in a career spanning seven decades, and is considered a British film ic ...
and
Derek Jacobi Sir Derek George Jacobi (; born 22 October 1938) is an English actor. He has appeared in various stage productions of William Shakespeare such as ''Hamlet'', ''Much Ado About Nothing'', ''Macbeth'', ''Twelfth Night'', '' The Tempest'', ''King ...
. The film is a homage to the stories of ''
Peter Pan Peter Pan is a fictional character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood having adventures on the mythi ...
'' and ''
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (commonly ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world of anthropomorphic creature ...
''. The characters of those stories are siblings who try to help their parents overcome the death of their eldest son. ''Come Away'' had its world premiere at the
Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,6 ...
on January 24, 2020 and was released in the United States on November 13, 2020, by
Relativity Media Relativity Media is an American media company founded in 2004 by Lynwood Spinks and Ryan Kavanaugh. The company brokered film finance deals and later branched into film production and other entertainment ventures. The company was commercially ...
and was released in the United Kingdom on December 18, 2020, by Signature Entertainment. It is Relativity's first theatrically released film since 2016's '' Masterminds''.


Plot

A mother reads "
The Stolen Child "The Stolen Child" is an 1889 poem by William Butler Yeats, published in ''The Wanderings of Oisin and Other Poems''. Overview The poem was written in 1886 and is considered to be one of Yeats's more notable early poems. The poem is based on I ...
" by
William Butler Yeats William Butler Yeats (13 June 186528 January 1939) was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer and one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival and became a pillar of the Irish liter ...
to her three children and recounts a story of three siblings; eldest David, middle child Alice and youngest Peter, who live with their parents: Jack and Rose Littleton. The children dwell in a house by a forest on the outskirts of London and let their imaginations run wild. Alice acts mature for her age in contrast to Peter who behaves like a feral child pretending to be various sorts of tribesmen and gods, regarding the local woods as his domain. Rose's sister Eleanor is requesting to sponsor David's education on the grounds of his intelligence (during one of their trips they discover an eagle feather and a downed boat, with the siblings wondering if they could get it sea worthy). Tragedy strikes one day when David, while pretending to fight pirates during a storm, falls into the river, is struck by lightning and dies. The family copes in different ways; with Jack, a model maker, returning to his bad gambling habits and Rose intending to make a green felt hat that would have been David's birthday present (further problems arise when Jack's latest model boat is rejected for another version). Eleanor meanwhile shifts focusing her attention on Alice hoping to make her niece a proper lady in order to make her more accepted in the current class society due to her mixed-race parentage. In order to make payments Peter and Alice make a trip to London to sell a family heirloom silver pocket watch, during which they shelter a group of street urchins who have pickpocketed an intimidating criminal. Both siblings meet an eccentric shop keeper, Hatter who leads them to a money lender and lower crime boss Captain James or CJ who unknown to both of them are their grandfather and uncle. Peter later runs into the very same street kids (he met earlier) who reveal they are known as the Lost Boys and that they have been to a place known only to children called Never Neverland and offer to take him there. Jack later visits his brother to call off his debt collectors, with a jealous James crippling his brother (as a show of loyalty to his crime pay masters) leading to Jack losing his hand. Peter responds by seeking out these Lost Boys to help rob James of the fortune of gold coins he spied on earlier that James is safe guarding for the various criminal organizations of London's underworld. When James catches his nephew in the act Peter cuts his uncle's hand off in a sword duel before fleeing, with his uncle and cohorts hot on his heels, Peter is forced to run away from home taking his late brother's newly finished hat with the eagle feather in it while dressed in his brother's hand me down green clothes (whilst Captain James and company give chase after him). Alice last spies Peter on the now fixed boat sailing away crewed by said Lost Boys who are taking her brother to Never Neverland (with the ship apparently being pulled into the air by the wind itself thanks to a
fairy A fairy (also fay, fae, fey, fair folk, or faerie) is a type of mythical being or legendary creature found in the folklore of multiple European cultures (including Celtic, Slavic, Germanic, English, and French folklore), a form of spirit ...
that Alice came across disguised as a little brass bell). Although Peter briefly returns to stop by while his family sleeps to deposit some of the stolen coins (that he irregularly does over the years to support his loved ones). The mother finishes telling her story which has now been established as being of her own childhood thereby revealing she is Alice now an adult to her children who are revealed to be
Wendy Darling Wendy Moira Angela Darling is a fictional character and one of the main protagonists of the 1904 play and 1911 novel ''Peter and Wendy'' by J. M. Barrie, as well as in most adaptations in other media. Her exact age is not specified in the origina ...
and her brothers, John and Michael. Coming back from going out for the evening with her husband George Darling, she suddenly hears a familiar crowing that both her brothers used to do and heads upstairs to find the children's bedroom windows thrown wide open and a notable eagle feather on the floor beneath said window. As she looks out of their window at the night sky hoping it was her brother who came to taken his niece and nephews off to this supposed Never Neverland, and will likely look after them while they are there.


Cast


Production

The project was announced in May 2016, with ''
The Prince of Egypt ''The Prince of Egypt'' is a 1998 American animated musical drama film produced by DreamWorks Animation and released by DreamWorks Pictures. The first feature film from DreamWorks to be traditionally animated, it is an adaptation of the Book ...
'' and '' Brave'' co-director Brenda Chapman hired to direct. In May 2018,
Angelina Jolie Angelina Jolie (; born Angelina Jolie Voight; June 4, 1975) is an American actress, filmmaker, humanitarian and former Special Envoy to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. The recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award ...
and
David Oyelowo David Oyetokunbo Oyelowo ( ; born 1 April 1976) is a British actor, director and producer. His accolades include a Critics' Choice Award and two NAACP Image Awards as well as nominations for two Golden Globe Awards, two Primetime Emmy Awards, ...
were cast to play the parents of Alice and Peter, with both actors also taking producer roles. In August 2018,
Anna Chancellor Anna Theodora Chancellor (born 27 April 1965) is a British actress who has received nominations for BAFTA and Olivier Awards. Background and early life Chancellor was born in Richmond, England to barrister John Paget Chancellor, eldest son of ...
,
Clarke Peters Peter Clarke (born April 7, 1952), known professionally as Clarke Peters, is an American-British actor, writer, and director. He is best known for his roles as Lester Freamon in the television series ''The Wire'' (2002–2008) and Albert Lambre ...
,
Gugu Mbatha-Raw Gugulethu Sophia Mbatha-Raw (; born 21 April 1983) is a British actress who is known for her performances on stage and screen. In 2017 she was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) by Queen Elizabeth II for services to drama ...
,
Michael Caine Sir Michael Caine (born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite; 14 March 1933) is an English actor. Known for his distinctive Cockney accent, he has appeared in more than 160 films in a career spanning seven decades, and is considered a British film ic ...
,
David Gyasi David Kwaku Asamoah Gyasi (; born 2 January 1980) is a British actor. He is best known for his roles in '' Cloud Atlas'' (2012) and '' Interstellar'' (2014), as well as the lead role of Lex Carnahan in The CW miniseries ''Containment''. Early ...
,
Derek Jacobi Sir Derek George Jacobi (; born 22 October 1938) is an English actor. He has appeared in various stage productions of William Shakespeare such as ''Hamlet'', ''Much Ado About Nothing'', ''Macbeth'', ''Twelfth Night'', '' The Tempest'', ''King ...
and
Jenny Galloway Jenny Galloway is a British actress, and singer best known for her stage career which includes Madame Thénardier in Les Misérables. She has received numerous awards and nominations, winning the 1999 Olivier Award for Best Supporting Actress ...
joined the cast. Additional financing came from Ace Pictures, Creasun Entertainment USA and Tin Res Entertainment; executive producers include David Haring, Minglu Ma, George Acogny, Timur Bekbosunov, Johnny Chang, Peter Wong, Emma Lee, Gia Muresan, Simon Fawcett and Steve Barnett. Filming commenced at
Shad Thames Shad Thames is a historic riverside street next to Tower Bridge in Bermondsey, London, England, and is also an informal name for the surrounding area. In the 19th century, the area included the largest warehouse complex in London. Location Th ...
in
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
in August 2018, as well as Windsor Great Park in both the South Forest and around Johnson's pond. In October 2018, the production moved to
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
before concluding later that month.


Release

It had its world premiere at the
Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,6 ...
on January 24, 2020. In October 2020,
Relativity Media Relativity Media is an American media company founded in 2004 by Lynwood Spinks and Ryan Kavanaugh. The company brokered film finance deals and later branched into film production and other entertainment ventures. The company was commercially ...
acquired U.S. distribution rights to the film and had its release on November 13, 2020.


Reception


Box office

In its opening weekend the film grossed $108,000 from 475 theaters. The film earned $184,477 in the United States and Canada, $1,562,383 in other territories, for a total worldwide gross of $1,746,860.


Critical response

Review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
website
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...
reported that of reviews of the film were positive, with an average rating of . The website's critics consensus reads, "Largely lacking the fairytale magic it seeks to conjure, ''Come Away'' is an initially intriguing fantasy that never really takes flight." According to
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
, which sampled 17 critic reviews and calculated a weighted average score of 40 out of 100, the film received "mixed or average reviews". After its Sundance premiere, Ben Pearson of ''
Slash Film ''/Film'', also spelled ''Slashfilm'', is a blog that covers movie news, reviews, interviews, and trailers. It was founded by Peter Sciretta in August 2005. Podcasts Six podcasts have run on the site. ''The /Filmcast'', hosted by David Chen, De ...
'' gave a positive review by stating "A new children's classic has arrived, and this timeless fairytale will surely enchant audiences for generations to come." John DeFore of ''
The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'' gave a negative review by stating "A wealth of familiar storybook material and a cast including Angelina Jolie and David Oyelowo will draw attention, but a handsome production and beautiful cast aren't enough to get this fantasy off the ground." Conversely, Peter Bradshaw, writing in ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', gave the film one star out of a possible five, describing it as "a muddled, leaden fantasy adventure for Christmas which feels as if someone put all the Quality Streets in a saucepan and melted them together, with the wrappers still on ... an indigestible lump of star turns, superstar cameos and references to classic children's literature".


References


External links

* {{Brenda Chapman 2020 films 2020 drama films 2020s fantasy drama films American fantasy drama films British fantasy drama films Films based on Alice in Wonderland Films directed by Brenda Chapman Films scored by John Debney Films shot in London Films shot in Los Angeles Magic realism films Peter Pan films 2020 fantasy films 2020s English-language films 2020s American films 2020s British films