Posted by: @impending-doom

Which tone/direction do we think Gerwig is going for now, based on the recent set videos of Jadis? 

I know some people will definitely leap towards "comical" on account of the costume, but I think there are also signs that they are increasing the tension and dramatic stakes of the whole scene.

Having Digory along for the ride not only provides the audience with a better point-of-view character for the scene, but also increases the stakes of the scene, by having our main protagonist in peril and at risk.

Having Jadis rampage through iconic locations of the British state such as the Tower of London (and likely Buckingham Palace and other landmarks to be shot soon) potentially heightens the impact of the scene. Jadis isn't just jaunting through the suburbs, it shows she has the intent and capability to do serious damage to our world.

The set photos (and the videos of the stunt doubles galloping) certainly lean into the intense side of things.

I hope they can balance the comedy and drama though. Someone mentioned how Marvel movies break the tension with a joke that undermines the drama of a scene. I prefer to think of the DC movies in this respect. In The Dark Knight, there are a number of scenes where the Joker makes some sadistic jokes. I remember seeing this movie in the cinemas, the audience genuinely laughed when the joker made these jokes - but the humour made the danger more real rather than less (think of the “I am going to make this pencil disappear” scene). In these scenes people would refer to the joker as a ‘freak’ and he would respond in an uncomfortable, irritated way, which was on the one hand pathetic and invited you to laugh at him, but on the other hand you could see that he wanted revenge and that he was able to inflict brutal revenge - which made it really scary.

In a similar vein, the Wonder Woman movie had some ‘fish out of water’ scenes where Dianna did not understand WW1 British culture / European culture. Some of these scenes were simply played for laughs, but there were some where her ignorance made the situation more dangerous. The latter scenes made audiences laugh, but they didn’t take you out of the movie because they maintained the stakes.

In and odd way, I feel the same way about the comedy in the fight at the lamppost.

We see Jadis riding on a hansom as if it were a chariot (which is comical). Then she leaps off the hansom and lands on the horse - showing super-human agility, which is no laughing manner.

The crowd (and us with them) laugh at her for being so wacky and out of touch with the Victorians surrounding her. But she hates being made a fool and rips the lamppost as if it were a twig and proceeds to assault police officers.

She is a genuinely dangerous woman who revels in making Strawberry more furious and lethal.

It may be difficult to put on screen, but it would be great if the film makers can maintain this tension between drama and comedy.