Come Away – A Decent Yet Overstuffed Imaginative Mess

Imagination isn’t necessarily a bad thing but it’s now always enough to make for a memorable viewing experience. That being said, imagination will always hold some appeal to audiences though in the case of Come Away, it just wasn’t quite enough. Forcing elements from several famous stories together to tell yet again a story about growing up without doing either one particularly well made for an overstuffed and arguably unclear narrative that failed to deliver the impact of those same familiar themes. Borrowing elements from Peter Pan and Alice in Wonderland, the sense of wonder was definitely there. However, it did not reconcile with the rest of the film around it and with a relatively short running time, clocking in at 90+ minutes, it never truly got off the ground despite having the best of intentions. Nevertheless, what it does bring to the table is a decent albeit forgettable experience considering its elements have more or less been done better across countless other film and television properties over the years.

Come Away tells the story of the Littletons, brothers David (Reece Yates) and Peter (Jordan A. Nash), sister Alice (Keira Chansa), and parents Jack (Oyelowo) and Rose (Jolie). The children spent most of their time getting lost within their own imaginations, playing games with one another outside while their parents indulged them. However, after the tragic passing of David would change things for everyone, forcing the younger children to grow up and finally face the reality of their circumstances as well as their grief. Peter and Alice essentially had to figure out what to do the next the only way they could which was with their imaginations but these ideas felt often at odds with one another. Juggling so many subplots meant that they never managed to mesh in a satisfying way, making for a somewhat dull experience. Wanting to help their parents, who faced irrelevant issues of their own, and fill the void of their older sibling, Peter and Alice’s personal journey got lost in the shuffle as the story drastically shifted from where it started. This made it difficult for it to stick the landing.

Although it didn’t all work, Come Away wasn’t without its moments. As mentioned, the film does a decent job at the imagination part of the equation while its score also helped. They were fun to watch as they weaved in David, Peter, and Alice’s imaginary adventures into the real world but they unfortunately didn’t really amount to much in the end as the film failed to go far enough with them. Their growing connection to the story became increasingly contrived and predictable to the point that it somewhat stopped being fun. Meanwhile, being told from the perspective of an older Alice (Mbatha-Raw), the mess of a story and subsequent lack of character development on her part as well as the other characters made it hard to connect with it on a deeper level regardless of everything else.

Ultimately, the best part of Come Away was its performances across the board which were all okay at best, matching the okay material. Yates, Nash, and Chansa as David, Peter, and Alice respectively, bringing some youthful energy and a relatable sense of wonder but the film failed to tap into that in enough of a compelling way. Oyelowo and Jolie were solid as Jack and Rose, bringing their screen presence and decent chemistry to roles that weren’t particularly challenging in the grand scheme of things.

At the end of the day, Come Away is still a decent albeit borderline family film that will suffice in the moment but lacks any staying power.

still courtesy of VVS Films

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Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.