One film that has been conspicuously missing from my entire childhood growing up is Steven Spielberg's E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. While the director is and always has been one of my personal favorites, I just suppose I never got around to seeing this film at all, despite it being one of his most revered works. Now that I have, I can quite clearly see why this movie has become so legendary in the past few decades, as it absolutely radiates Spielberg's energy. Everything about this film is so trademark of his directorial style, from the adventurous atmospheres to John Williams' stupendous score. There is a lot throughout this film that I feel was lacking in the story and I never felt massively involved in these characters, but the fact that Spielberg can infuse his style into childlike stories such as this one is miraculous. The best way that I can sum up my experience watching this landmark 80s film is that, for better or worse, it is exactly what I was expecting.
After getting accidentally left behind by his fellow aliens while collecting samples from Earth, a lone extra-terrestrial is forced to find refuge in the backyard of a young boy named Elliott (Henry Thomas). When they stumble upon each other, they form a heartwarming friendship and with the help of Elliott's brother Michael (Robert MacNaughton) and sister Gertie (Drew Barrymore), they must work to protect E.T. from the local authorities and send him home. On paper, this film sounds like a perfect, family film that will appeal to audiences of all ages. While it succeeds in being just that, it does not do as well in regards to the dialogue or actual plot. I really wanted to love every aspect of this story but the script, written by Melissa Mathison, is where I find most of my problems. None of the dialogue spoken throughout this movie is very authentic and while that might just be due to it falling into the nearly cheesy 80s category, I believe that more work could have been put into making these characters believable. I also found much of the plot to be a bit thin. I do not think this movie had any right to be almost two hours long, especially with the amount of time that was spent with the characters simply messing around with E.T. and dressing him up in funny costumes or teaching him about the eccentricities of our planet. It almost feels like Mathison was writing this story as a short film but needed to stretch it out for the sake of a feature and this did not help in getting me to connect with the story at first. However, despite the frankly disappointing script, Spielberg is able to completely revitalize this story into something of his own and breathe life into it in the best possible ways. With the help of John Williams' tremendous score, they are able to make an excellent film out of an otherwise overdone type of story.
The premise of this film is so simple and yet the execution so elegant. Spielberg, if anyone had any doubts, definitely knows how to direct a film. His style is so brilliantly individual in how he handles his characters and their adventures. Even though this film was only set in a few, small locations with limited plot points, it felt like a universe of a journey. I love how Spielberg is able to really make the audience care for this plot, despite how bare the dialogue itself might have been. This, thankfully, also leaves a lot of the visual storytelling up to Spielberg and cinematographer Allen Daviau, which they expertly handle. Elliott's connection to E.T. provides the film with practically all of its emotion and the way that they go about this story together being connected makes for such a loving relationship. Spielberg makes sure that his audience is emotionally wrecked by the time the last scene comes and getting people to feel for a strange, unattractive, little alien is a feat in itself. The puppetry and special effects utilized throughout this film were very impressive, especially in the character design of E.T. himself, and seeing his naive character run amuck makes for some hilariously charming moments. I also do not think that these child actors, including a very young Barrymore, were particularly good at acting but that really does not matter when a story like this is being helmed by a director as talented and diverse as Spielberg. He takes everything great about his directorial choices and really boils it down to fit this adorable story. The thrilling adventure that can be found in the Indiana Jones franchise still courses through the veins of this film while the achingly emotional beats of something like Saving Private Ryan can be seen as well. There are so many reasons why he is one of my favorite storytellers and even though this film was not part of my original adoration for him, it only enhances my appreciation of his body of work.
Spielberg's E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is an incredibly heartwarming and special film that introduced the cinematic world to a new breed of alien: the friendly one. There is so much passion and heart that is told in this story that I do not think anyone else could have portrayed other than Spielberg. While I still take issue with how the script was barely able to hold on to itself, it is obvious to me why this movie has become such a timeless classic.
My Rating: ★★★★
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