Sam Elliott‘s performance is the one redeeming quality his 2007 fantasy film has going for it, compared to the far better TV series released years later. Written and directed by Chris Weitz, the film is based on Philip Pullman’s Northern Lights, the first installment of the His Dark Materials trilogy, and stars Dakota Blue Richards, Nicole Kidman, and Daniel Craig.
Like many great fantasy book adaptations, the events of Northern Lights were changed for the big screen. Although many of the alterations made for book-to-film adaptations can be welcomed by fans of the original novels, this wasn’t the case for Weitz’s movie. The film, while not a complete failure, didn’t receive an overwhelmingly positive response either.
Premiering in 2019, the TV series His Dark Materials, based on all of Pullman’s trilogy, proved to be a stronger adaptation of the author’s work and found greater success with critics and audiences. Still, Weitz’s movie has one great, remarkable component that His Dark Materials can’t compete with: Elliott’s performance as Lee Scoresby.
Sam Elliott Was A Perfect Choice To Play Lee Scoresby In The Golden Compᴀss
Elliott Excels In Bringing To Life Pullman’s Vision For The Character
Elliott stars in Weitz’s The Golden Compᴀss as Lee Scoresby, a Texan aeronaut who befriends and helps Lyra (Richards). After seeing Elliott as Lee, it’s hard to imagine anyone else portraying the character better. It’s easy to poke holes in The Golden Compᴀss‘ storytelling and find faults with the choice to omit certain aspects of Pullman’s novel, but Elliott’s casting is quite solid.
Pullman has said that Lee Scoresby’s name is partially inspired by Western star Lee Van Cleef because he is who the author imagined the character of Lee would look like.
Elliott’s diverse filmography indicates his range as an actor, but it’s his experience in Westerns that lends itself well to his overall performance. As Lee, Elliott perfectly embodies the required Texan nerve of the character while simultaneously being incredibly principled and caring. Elliott’s performance is finely balanced and is also aligned with the way Pullman wrote Lee.
His Dark Materials Is Fantastic, But I Still Like Sam Elliott As Lee More Than Lin-Manuel Miranda
A Familiar Face In The Western Genre, Elliott Was The Ideal Choice To Play Lee
In almost every regard, His Dark Materials surpᴀsses The Golden Compᴀss as both an adaptation of Pullman’s work and as a fantasy project. The Golden Compᴀss was too concerned with presenting an attractive blockbuster that had the potential to start a franchise, sacrificing the substance and core themes of Pullman’s novel.
However, for as accomplished a series as His Dark Materials is, Elliott’s performance as Lee is still superior to that of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s as the same character in the TV series. However, Miranda’s performance as Lee is still superb. Though his interpretation of Lee differs from Elliott’s, Miranda admirably embraces Lee’s fundamental traits, such as his strength and unshakable morals.
Miranda is best known for his musical endeavors, but his role in His Dark Materials proves just how versatile a performer he truly is. Still, Elliott’s charisma and integrity as Lee in The Golden Compᴀss is difficult to beat. Elliott shines even brighter in The Golden Compᴀss, which is otherwise quite flawed, and gives the better His Dark Materials considerable compeтιтion.
