Wonderstruck (2017)- BFI London Film Festival 2017

Review

116min

Genre:      Drama, Family, Mystery

Director:   Todd Haynes

Cast:        Millicent Simmonds, Oakes Fegley, Julianne Moore…and more

Writer:     Brian Selznick

-Synopsis-

The intersecting story of two American twelve-year-olds who are separated by geography and half a century but connected through shared experiences, only to be brought together by cosmic forces and a city-spanning adventure in the ‘big apple’ to unravel the wondrous mystery of what links them—in this adaptation of the Brian Selznick novel from the director of ‘Far from Heaven’ and ‘Carol’.

Long has acclaimed writer/director Todd Haynes been drawn to stories of people struggling to connect while under the pressures of society and expectation, often through the prism of reflective and restrained but emotionally charged American period dramas, as seen in his most recent Oscar-nominated effort 2015’s ‘Carol’. Now the celebrated L.A. native turns his filmmaking eye once again to the ‘city that never sleeps’ and two distinct eras in 20th century America—adapting Selznick’s youth novel about disability, memory and connection, while creating his broadest and most stylistic movie to date.

Millicent Simmonds stars as young deaf and mute girl ‘Rose’, who escapes her unhappy life in New Jersey to track down her estranged mother in the New York of the ‘roaring twenties’, embarking on an adventure which leads her to the American Museum of Natural History. Five decades later in the ‘seedy seventies’ young ‘Ben’ (Oakes Fegley)—recently rendered deaf from a freak accident—sets off on his own quest to discover the truth about his unknown father in the big apple, meeting new friend ‘Jamie’ (Jaden Michael) who leads him to that same museum, setting a path to a bookstore owner (Julianne Moore) who helps Ben unravel the mystery of his father’s fate . . . and discover who he is.

As its title might suggest, ‘Wonderstruck’ is a story of childlike discovery and wonderment, as two pre-teens separated by time are brought together by circumstance . . . and a bit of cosmic interference. The audience is taken back and forth fifty years as the two youngsters embark on mirrored experiences through the streets and museums of the mighty New York city—escaping abandonment and isolation on the way to finding belonging and meaning, and discovering the ties which bind them together.

With two distinct eras to play with and a larger budget than usual, Haynes crafts his most stylistic and visually elaborate film to date, employing impressive costume and production designs to re-create the twenties and seventies with intricacy and flare, particularly when it comes to the museum elements—all captured in both monochrome and Technicolor by regular Todd Haynes cinematographer Edward Lachman.

Yet sound is an even more crucial part of ‘Wonderstruck’, both in terms of atmosphere and narrative, with the 1920s element almost proving a silent movie and both eras featuring minimal dialogue, mimicking the experiences of the two protagonists. But there’s plenty of ambient noise here and the film is set to a sumptuous soundtrack of 70s funk and rock, and features an atmospheric and psychedelic score from Carter Burwell (The Big Lebowski, Carol)—all of which gives it the feel of an orchestral silent film, or a cinematic symphony.

The fairly compact cast of accomplished adult actors and impressive child performers all deliver with minimal dialogue but plenty of emotion to convey, and an ambience to inhabit, particularly the two child leads who carry the film. As a young deaf girl in the 1920s, Millicent Simmonds in her film debut is the film’s standout performer, using her own hearing disability to deliver an impressively subtle performance with huge emotion drawn on her endearing young face—and is set to shine further in John Krasinski’s upcoming horror/thriller ‘A Quiet Place’.

‘Wonderstruck’ is however somewhat of a departure for Todd Haynes, turning to youth fiction for what is essentially a family-friendly drama about self-acceptance, albeit a measured, expertly crafted and well-adorned one. As such the film strikes a tone which fans of the director may fight comparatively bland and occasionally over-sweetened, lacking the emotional subtlety of his other work and dragging out the little genuine poignancy there is for dramatic effect—leading to a plot-explaining conclusion which is hopeful and positive, but a little too broad and convenient, while missing the emotional punch you might have hoped for.

Yet if you accept the tonal shift and take this hopeful human tale for what it is, ‘Wonderstruck’ may well prove a captivating and melodic tapestry of memory and emotion, and a hopeful story of disability, human connection and discovering your roots—wrapped in a tale of fascination and reaching for the stars, which flies in the face of our cynical and jaded, know-it-all society.

The Bottom Line…

A beautifully crafted visual and audial ode to childlike wonderment and discovery, ‘Wonderstruck’ sees Todd Haynes changing pace to uplifting family mode with a tale of legacy and human connection which may not boast the narrative subtlety or emotional gravitas of his previous work, but is still enchanting and intricate enough to captivate an audience . . . across generations.

‘Wonderstruck’ is out on the 9th of April in the UK, and is out now in US cinemas.

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