Review of Professor Marston and the Wonder Women (2017) by Alan W — 17 Nov 2017

Boy meets girl. Boy marries girl. Boy and girl invent the Lie Detector. Boy and girl meet yet another girl in this romance/drama set in between the two World Wars, and the threesome eventually create both an unconventional familial unit and a beloved comic book character in this curious but conventionally made film by Angela Robinson.

Perhaps letting their rather incredible story, which is so very ahead of its time, speaks for itself is the best way to do it justice as we haven't even mention the professor/student relationship and other kinkier perversions we will visit here - which the film seeks to present in the most tasteful way possible, and just about gets away with it if not for two transformative but slightly over-staged sequences that some will find too on the nose to work without causing some eye-rolling.

However, the central performances by Luke Evans, Rebecca Hall and newcomer Bella Heathcote save the film with their tender portrayals which are heartfelt and genuine and there is real chemistry between the trio.

Less successful is the script's lip service on the effects their arrangements have on their children as they are only touched upon all too briefly in one scene and the frustration I feel when their 'arrangement' comes a cropper in the film as a result of their foolish/arrogant indiscretions.

.. twice. Ultimately, this is a solid and attractive film that feels relevant, not only because of the resurging popularity of their creation, Wonder Woman, but because any film on the universal subjects of sexual equality, love and tolerance, are always relevant and shines a light on how (not very) far we, as a society, have progressed.