The biggest problem facing “Wonderstruck” so far has been a respectful if somewhat muted reaction to the latest film by Todd Haynes. His new fantasy/drama debut at the Cannes Film Festival, where we liked it a bit better than most, calling it “a lovely wish-fulfillment movie” that will leave you “struck by wonder.” However, even with an appearance at the all important Telluride Film Festival, it hasn’t seemed to leap into the awards season conversation. There’s plenty of time to turn around the narrative.
Starring Julianne Moore, Oakes Fegley, Michelle Williams, Jaden Michael and Millicent Simmonds, the film is an adaptation of the book by “Hugo” author Brian Selznick, that follows two children, across two timelines, in a bold act of storytelling verve. Here’s the official synopsis:
Based on Brian Selznick’s critically acclaimed novel Ben and Rose are children from two different eras who secretly wish their lives were different. Ben longs for the father he has never known, while Rose dreams of a mysterious actress whose life she chronicles in a scrapbook. When Ben discovers a puzzling clue in his home and Rose reads an enticing headline in the newspaper, both children set out on quests to find what they are missing that unfold with mesmerizing symmetry.
“Wonderstruck” hits the New York Film Festival next and opens on October 20th.
