Review of Wonder (2017) by John M — 07 Mar 2018

Oh my goodness. So this is about a young boy, Auggie (Jacob Tremblay) who is about to enter the 5th grade. He has been home schooled all of his life, so this is a huge adjustment to be sure, but there is a small hitch: he has a facial deformity.

Will he be able to find acceptance in the classroom at an age where children have the tendency to be their most brutal? Now I was actually upset that I missed this in theaters. Unlike The Breadwinner where it never came to a theater near me, Wonder had a long and extended theatrical run, I just never found the time in my schedule to go out and watch it.

I had heard how emotional this was in advance, and yeah, I have no problem telling you that this melted my heart and made me cry. This stars the kid from Room, and he has arguably the most talent I have ever seen in somebody so young, even more than Haley Joel Osment at his age.

He gives an incredible performance, and the fact that he does so with such extensive make-up just makes it all the more impressive. Even though you probably don't have the same unique problem that Auggie has, Wonder is extremely easy to relate to, and it is a story that is accessible at every turn.

Bullying is a huge issue in school that doesn't get brought up nearly as often as it should, and it tends to be at its worst in the middle school years. It is bad enough if you have something that makes you stand out, like a mole or glasses, but to have a feature this drastic is nothing short than an emotional death sentence at this age.

It just breaks your heart to see this sweet child struggle, and you want to see him rise up and overcome as much as he does. Wonder manages to pull off the difficult feat of accomplishing all of the above without ever becoming sappy.

I know that in lesser hands, this would probably be what we would be looking at, and even the supporting actors like Julia Roberts and Owen Wilson really do bring good performances to the table. I know that this movie will make parents and children have more conversations about bullying, and I hope this does raise awareness across the nation.

There is nothing wrong with being different, and I highly recommend this movie.