Wonderstruck is a tale of two children separated by time and distance who find the answers to the major questions of their lives in New York, specifically at the American Museum of Natural History. Ben is from Gunflint, Minnesota in 1977, and Rose is from Hoboken, New Jersey in 1927. Todd Haynes directed the film, and he is best known for his work in Far From Heaven and Carol, which is in my queue, but I haven’t seen yet.
I made a decision not to see Wonderstruck in the theater because as you inch closer to death, you realize that you’re running out of time and can simply not see everything that is allegedly critically acclaimed. I decided that unless the movie sounds really amazing, I’m not watching movies for kids or movies with children as protagonists. I decided to see this film on DVD, but it may have been a mistake because some of the scenes set in darker lighting appear flat and indiscernible on a smaller screen. It made it incredibly difficult to read words, which is pivotal to the plot.
I believe that those scenes were probably amazing because his shots matched the cinematic style of the time period. His 1927 scenes were like silent films both in terms of audio and because the scenes were in black and white though not necessarily on that film stock. His 1977 shots are so vibrant and colorful, but shot in that warmer tone like a Kodak camera that it actually matched my memory of Manhattan during that time. Real talk: if you were a child in New York City, the shots of the museum will trigger your nostalgia. It has not changed much. I was specifically impressed with how he shot brown and black people. Their skin looked fantastic and like jewels, which I normally only see from directors of color or Brazilian filmmakers. Also the opening nightmare sequence reminded me of the most evocative and resonant images in Dreamcatcher. Haynes is so visually ambitious in Wonderstruck that it makes the movie worth your time if you are into cinema.
Wonderstruck is an adaptation of a novel, and it feels like it. As the film unfolds, parallels are drawn between the characters’ stories. When I was younger, these moments of kismet would impress me. I loved books such as John Irving’s A Prayer for Owen Meany. I believe in miracles. Now it feels self conscious, and I was not swept away by the story. The movie was fraught with foreshadowing fairly early so you can tell the trajectory of the narrative fairly early.
I don’t think that I actually liked Wonderstruck’s story. I may have accidentally been triggered by it because if you are the child of a Caribbean mother, during a storm, you have to turn off all the electrical devices and not use the phone, which is one of the first things that you stop doing when you become an adult.
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Why was Ben’s paternal family such a big secret? How did Rose and Walter know Ben’s name and his importance if Ben’s mom didn’t introduce herself or stay in touch with them? It retroactively makes Ben’s mom seem like a monster for keeping his paternal family out of his life. If there was a reason that she did not want him to know his father’s identity was because of something that he did, I could understand, but he just died. I don’t think that she was concerned about the stigma of an out of wedlock baby because she was countercultural, listening to Bowie and smoking joints. It just doesn’t make sense. Also I hate cinematic health problems. Ben’s dad is healthy enough to travel across the country, knock up some chick then expires suddenly like Camille to create tension. Everyone knows American Sign Language in the 1970s. Sadly that isn’t even true today. Truth can be stranger than fiction, but fiction has to feel plausible, and it does not. So chick has been pining away in the woods all this time. Great casting of Michelle Williams, especially given her personal history, but she loved and tragically lost one of the greatest and hottest actors of our time, and even she has bounced back. Nope.
There is a point when Jamie reveals to Ben that he did not tell Ben a crucial piece of information. They argue about the implications for their friendship, but there is no scene in which Jamie then gives the information to Ben, but Ben gets there anyway. How? This explosive scene also does not really work because of Ben’s condition because it consists of the characters mostly talking, not writing. Then there is a sudden black out, but no one accidentally damages the diorama. Ok. Sure. I remember that blackout. Something is getting nicked.
Rose’s story also does not make sense if you think about it too long. I love the sibling relationship, but she made it sound like her brother, Walter, had to hide her from her parents to take care of her. The father had custody, and Walter would have had to get permission from him to enroll her in school. People would not just be cool with her disappearing, and some random single unmarried man rolling up with a little girl. Children were the absolute property of their fathers at that time, and their father seemed like a tyrant. Maybe he was sick of her and delighted to relinquish the reins, but I don’t think that the movie explains the details. It is possible that I misinterpreted this plot point, but these plot points illustrate Wonderstruck’s systematic narrative leap problem.
I did not see Night at the Museum, but it was made before Wonderstruck was published. Please tell me that I’m not the only one who considered that it may have influenced Brian Selznick, the author of the book and screenwriter. I don’t plan to go down that rabbit hole, but if you have thoughts, I would be grateful if you would share them.
Wonderstruck is a journey of self-discovery and belonging, specifically running away is actually running towards who you really are. As its young star, Milicent Simmonds said in a special feature interview, “I hope we can share one world and keep our differences.” I appreciated its heart. The movie was visually stunning, but the actual story felt too structured in a way that separated it from reality instead of evoking the spiritual sense of a larger plan that can be felt in real life.