Wonderstruck * * *

Wonderstruck is the latest film from Todd Haynes. It hasn’t been released in Australia yet.

I’ve liked most of Todd Haynes films and I was really looking forward to this. So much so I even endured the crowds at the  Melbourne International Film Festival rather than doing the sensible thing and wait a month or so for general release.

Feeling Wonderstruck yet?

Unfortunately the title of the film was not my response to the film.

Wonderstruck is based on a child's (young adults) book and I think that is part of the problem. As a child’s story, and a story told through a child, it’s not going to go into adult areas.

Although it is handled in a caring manner, absent of condescension, ultimately it lacks the appeal of Haynes other works.  Nevertheless, it is beautifully crafted and - as in many of Haynes’s films - flawlessly shifted to another era: this time, the 1920’s and the 1970’s.

Two deaf children, one from each era, have their own reason to run away from home and go to New York where they visit the Museum of Natural History.  
The story of the girl child from the 1920’s is shot and told like a film from that era - black and white and silent, which of course is how she heard the world anyway.

The boy from the 1970’s has recently lost his Mother - and his hearing. He never knew his father but a clue he has found among his mother’s possessions makes him think he can find him.

As adults watching this, our primary concern, and emotional involvement, comes from a sense of care and fear for these children alone in a huge city.  The recreation of the 1970’s is extraordinary: there doesn’t seem to be anything out of context.  Among the chosen music from that era I was amazed to hear Fripp and Eno. It was a perfect fit.

Without wanting to give away the plot - and there are many strands - slowly, inevitably we see the story of the two children connect, with the girl as an older woman now, played by one of Todd's favourites, Julianne Moore.

Using the museum, cinema, and wildlife, the story has plenty of symbolism which is charming rather than revealing.

Wonderstruck probably won’t leave you wonderstruck but is a pleasure to watch, if not the most satisfying of Todd Haynes films.