Review of Wonderstruck (2017) by Dawdlingpoet — 23 Nov 2021

This is a charming, old fashioned style film with close to no dialgue for the most part (certainly for most the first half of the film) and which centers around two main characters. Its set in 2 different times as well - the late 1920s and the 1970s. Its quite an immersive watch. The 1920s scenes are in black and white, which, I suppose, helps to clarify which timeframe we're watching. For the 2nd half of the film, its mostly in colour though. This would probably be a confusing watch for younger viewers as the plot is relatively slow and the lack of dialogue may also put some people off. It certainly has an arty feel to it though and I liked the fact that one of the 2 main characters is deaf, so we see things from a deaf childs point of view, which I found intriguing. There is a fair bit of classical/instrumental music present, which I also quite liked. It feels to me like quite a clever film but its probably just a bit too quirky/abstract to really have mass widespread appeal, particularly to younger viewers, I would have thought (I mean pre-adolescents). The plot itself is both sweet and interesting but I wouldn't say this is the king od film that really grabs you as a viewer and pulls you in right away, although if you stick with it and start to realise the journey that the 2 main characters are each embarking on, then it may well feel a more engrossing watch. I certainly thought it was a good film overall and I also liked how another young child made an effort to communicate with the deaf boy. I suppose one of the main themes this film covers is how different people communicate with one another i.e. communication and isolation. I remember thinking of Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close while I was watching it, as (I suppose) its another child shown walking about New York City, on a bit of a personal journey, to do with his parents, like in that film, although this one has no direct links to 9/11 of course.

The full story, as its slowly revealed, towards the end, was really quite lovely and there is sign language shown to accompany the start of the credits. I should also point out that this film is based on the book by Brian Selznick. Overall this is a charming and heartwarming watch but it isn't a film that will appeal or be enjoyed by all, yet I'd recommend it nevertheless, if your open minded at all.