Dreamchild (1985)

To help celebrate the 100th anniversary of Lewis Carroll's birth, an 80 year old woman (Coral Browne) who was the inspiration for Carroll's ALICE IN WONDERLAND agrees to travel to the U.S. in 1932. But she is overwhelmed by media attention and her thoughts go back to her childhood. Written by Dennis Potter (PENNIES FROM HEAVEN) and directed by Gavin Millar. The film was barely released in the U.S. (it didn't do so well in England either) which is a pity as it deserved a much better fate. The movie delicately avoids any implication of Carroll (Ian Holm) as a repressed pedophile though Alice's mother (Jane Asher) recognizes the inappropriateness of his feelings toward her daughter. The young Alice (Amelia Shankley) doesn't either and it isn't till the end of her life that she recognizes his longing for her. Browne gives the best performance of her career here, transitioning from a crabby dowager to a frightened and confused old woman in her dotage and back again. Where the film falters is in its portrayal of the Americans, who all come across as vulgar and avaricious. The subplot between Peter Gallagher as an American news reporter and Alice's young companion (Nicola Cowper) detracts from the story we want to see. The Wonderland creatures were created by Jim Henson's Creature Shop. The restrained underscore is by Stanley Myers. With Caris Corfman, Shane Rimmer, Imogen Boorman and James Wilby.