Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
Amazon may have been passed over for the Oscars this year, but they still put out some truly remarkable projects. One of these is Wonderstruck, the latest from Todd Haynes (Carol, I’m Not There). It’s a wondrous, magical little movie, both mesmerizing and surprising in equal measure. Told alternately between two timelines, we follow Rose (the 14-year-old deaf actress Millicent Simmonds), a lonely young deaf girl in 1927 New Jersey, and Ben (Oakes Fegley), a young boy in 1977 Minnesota who becomes deaf after he is struck by lightning. Both children head to New York City in search of their respective truths and the result is something strange and immersive that hits you in a way you probably won’t expect.
It may be hard for you to get into Wonderstruck, but don’t bail prematurely; there’s an inevitable beauty to it, one that demonstrates a different side of Haynes as an artist and allows us all to tap into our inner children. There are few other things to call the film but “lovely”; it’s visually rich at every turn, both in its black-and-white segments and vibrant 1970s’ setting, and the score and supporting performances from Michelle Williams and Julianne Moore are enough to break your heart (and put it back together again). It’s rare that a movie so effortlessly captures that elusive childlike quality we all yearn for, but Wonderstruck takes hold of it and doesn’t let go, leaving us in awe as it progresses.
What’s wonderful about Wonderstruck is that it breaks new ground. Simmonds’ turn as Rose is absolutely breathtaking; she captures all the despair and hopes and dreams of this young deaf girl with her expressive gaze, sucking us into her world with a raise of her eyebrows or the emergence of a frown. Rose finds solace in her local cinema, where the silent film era is coming to a close. In a world where she constantly feels alone, she is able to watch a film that she doesn’t need to hear – but this is soon taken from her when talkies are introduced, and that’s a pain we feel with her. Fegley, while not deaf, painstakingly acts the way any of us might if we had our hearing ripped away from us, and it’s compelling stuff. By the time he finally encounters Moore’s character, some real magic is happening. It’s the young actors who really drive the film home, filling their screen time with masterful performances that could fool any one of us into thinking they’d been doing this for years.
Based on the book by Brian Selznick, who also adapted the screenplay, Wonderstruck isn’t entirely without flaws; it certainly might have benefited from better pacing, and at times, the complications of the story overwhelm the film – but to its credit, it never stops being compelling. There may be one too many visual cues for us to keep up with, but Wonderstruck maintains its dreamy state, ensuring that there’s something for everyone to connect with – and boy, will you.
