Originally posted on The-F (May 28, 2016)
With the new release of Alice Through the Looking Glass, IMAX sent out a magical invitation to those in Melbourne for a trip down the rabbit hole to a screening of the new film.
A concoction of fashion, art, film and all things mad took over IMAX on Wednesday night for the advanced screening, as the lobby transformed into a garden of red roses, bright colours, scattered playing cards and giant clocks.
But what would an ‘Underland’ themed space be without a few Mad Hatters scattering about? Not to mention the Red Queen and Alice herself, with audience members dressing up as characters or even wearing spectacularly colourful clothing in celebration of the film’s release.
New York street artist, Kelsey Montague also joined the party, leaving her mark by working on an interactive mural outside of IMAX for the rest of Melbourne to enjoy. A brilliant and enchanting work of public art that the night’s visitors could experience watching her create live.
The night was a perfect introduction to Alice Through the Looking Glass, which was a captivating and magical film, framed against the backdrop of time and its complexity.
Once again the original cast returned to the enchanted world of Underland, with the addition of Sacha Baron Cohen as a new character who plays the personification of Time. The performances overall evolved immensely since the original, and were perfectly executed for their characters. All were wacky, caricatured and enjoyable, however there is no doubt Time stole the show.
Despite the cluttered and incoherent storyline, the film was bursting with colour and slapstick, while exuding an air of curiosity and intrigue as the story evolves with intensity.
The sets and costume designs were the main element to capture the idea of wonder and magic, in particular Time’s grand clock as each little tick and speck is a true homage to Lewis Carol’s wild and brilliant imagination.
A film worth checking out purely to feel the magic from the set design and characters.
Katy Chamoun 