Review of Martian Child (2007) by Chads. — 16 Feb 2008
You can't set your film at a planetarium without conjuring up Nicholas Ray's "Rebel Without a Cause", which in effect, rips off the extrapolative conceit that Dennis(Bobby Coleman) is a child from outer space.
The "martian" boy feels uncomfortable on Mars' surface. The red planet is not his home, after all. Dennis tells his adoptive father David(John Cusack) that he might be from a different Mars.
Later on, "Martian Child" returns to the planetarium, where David's epiphany results in these compassionate words of acceptance to his adoptive son, "I'm not even that smart. I can see it.
It's so obvious, " as both males(one from Mars, one from Venus) face each other on the building's ledge, past the precipice of knowing. Why Bobby keeps a collection of other people's stuff in his closet suddenly becomes obvious: he doesn't want to be the only one.
"Martian Child" may someday be reappraised as an important film once it's recognized that Dennis, in all likelihood, is a future candidate for SRS(sex reassignment surgery), because this martian child, this earthling with the pipsqueak voice, feels alien in his own skin, feels pretty.
This review of Martian Child (2007) was written by Chads. on 16 Feb 2008.
Martian Child has generally received positive reviews.
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