An adult-friendly, almost Pythonesque, if word-heavy adaptation of Lewis Carroll's fantasy classic. Kate Beckinsale heads a star-studded cast as a grown-up Alice who finds herself drawn into a mirror while reading the story to her daughter. The lunatic seriousness of her conversation with Ian Holm as the White Knight is intelligently sustained, while Ian Richardson and Steve Coogan have fun as Wasp and Gnat, Sian Phillips is a splendidly spiteful Red Queen and Greg Wise perhaps the handsomest Red Knight on record. The movie, financed by Channel 4, has a kind of sophisticated simplicity that gives it a wide appeal and Beckinsale's grave Alice is probably her best film work outside Cold Comfort Farm. A pity the script doesn't always keep up with the other elements.

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