Deepanjana Pal
One of the reasons Roald Dahl’s fiction has been such a favourite of children across generations and geographies is that he recognised the world is a wretched place, filled with horrible people, and redeemed it using fantasy.
Dahl is less forgiving in his fiction for grown-ups, which is venomously cynical and wickedly bitter. The Swan, even though it’s about three boys, is an excellent example of Dahl’s adult fiction.
The Swan opens with Rupert Friend, of the bluer-than-blue eyes, standing on a path lined with giant, overgrown, but dry hedges. Anderson’s worlds are never rooted in realism, but this one immediately feels like something from a dream.
The first hint that Anderson is going to complicate Dahl’s story about two bullies and their victim is when you realise Ernie, the gun-toting lout, wears glasses — just like Peter.
The bullies find their target and the director cuts abruptly to Ralph Fiennes as Roald Dahl who speaks to the camera, concluding this tale with all the silver-tongued charm of a bard trying to find for his listener some sort of happy ending.