I chalk up all these minor differences to artistic license and the natural evolution of a story from page to screen. The film creates a spiritual connection between Michael, Skellig, and the baby that the book only hints at, and the filmmakers use an eerie technique with Skellig’s eyes to make him seem even more otherworldly. This proves to Michael that Skellig can save his sister, something Michael only wonders about in the book. The addition of a shed burning scene, in which Michael saves Skellig, highlights Skellig’s ability to heal Michael’s burn by holding his hand. Michael now has a fear of heights, making it all the more dramatic when the audience finally sees Skellig fly and adding action to this otherwise quiet story. The film does heighten fantastical elements of the book. References to Icarus and William Blake remain - though I was disappointed that the film’s discussion of Blake, whose work is so relevant to the storyline and referenced extensively by Mina, is reduced to one scene. The film version even keeps small details such as owls bringing Skellig mice to eat. This faithful adaptation includes all the book’s characters, and the storyline closely follows that of the book (with dialogue picked up almost word for word at times). The whole cast is uniformly outstanding in their realistic, moving performances. Young actress Skye Bennett as Michael’s new friend Mina exudes her character’s inquisitive, free-thinking nature, but she plays a less active role in the film.
As Michael, relative newcomer Bill Milner is just the right mix of sensitive and sincere - qualities that explain his desire to help Skellig. TV and film star Tim Roth ( Lie to Me, Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction) as the enigmatic Skellig is superb in his portrayal of the gruff but gentle character. Instead, both novel and film allow this unanswered question to linger, capturing the mystery and wonder that accompany Skellig. Is Skellig human, an angel, or something else entirely? Michael’s question to Skellig, “What are you?” is the mystery that the book never truly resolves wisely, neither does the movie. This creature, Skellig, looks like a man but eats bugs and mice, has tattered wings, eventually flies, and inexplicably heals Michael’s ailing baby sister. in 2009.įantastical realism at its finest, Skellig is the story of ten-year-old Michael and the mysterious being he discovers in an outbuilding of his family’s new house. Released on DVD in August 2010, Skellig: The Owl Man (Feel Films PG) - the unfortunate subtitle added for the U.S. I was pleasantly surprised by the made-for-TV adaptation of David Almond’s Skellig, a Printz Honor and Carnegie Medal–winning book.
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