‘Wonder’
Based on a YA novel — with all the trappings that the genre contains — Wonder sets up like it’s going to be this heartstring-pulverizing weepie, and you probably will cry a few times, but to the movie’s credit, it has more going for it than pure emotional manipulation. In telling the story of a young boy with facial deformities and his struggle to attend grade school for the first time, director Stephen Chbosky (The Perks of Being a Wallflower) opens the film’s field of vision up to all the people around young Auggie. There’s a generosity that radiates through the strangest corners of this movie; about every 15 minutes or so, a character will show up and just do something breathtakingly kind. It’s a good space to be in for a couple hours.