You tend to have high hopes for a film that stars Julianne Moore and Michelle Williams. When it comes to filmmaking, director Todd Haynes is a meticulous craftsman. His beautiful 1950s love story ‘Carol’ won over critics and audiences alike. His latest film ‘Wonderstruck’ is adapted from a book by Brian Selznick, the same author of ‘The Invention of Hugo Cabret’ which Martin Scorsese directed for the big screen. You get the sense that this story was a labor of love for Haynes. That’s precisely why it is a bit disappointing when you don’t get that satisfying payoff. Another problem is that the film is carried on the shoulders of two child actors with little dialogue. You’re essentially watching a silent movie that spans a 50 year gap. It’s the back-and-forth jolt between the two eras that makes it difficult to stay emotionally invested.
The film deals with two parallel stories with a pair of deaf children. In 1927, we meet Rose (a wonderful Millicent Simmonds) who lives in New Jersey and rebels against her father by not studying her lip-reading and sign language book. She was born deaf. Instead, she escapes to the local cinema to watch her favorite silent movie star, Lillian Mayhew (Julianne Moore). She runs away from home in the hopes of seeing Lillian who is rehearsing for a Broadway show. The other story is set 50 years later in Minnesota and deals with Ben (Oakes Fegley) who loses his librarian mother (Michelle Williams) in a car accident and his hearing during a thunder storm. He decides to also run away from home in the hopes of finding his father that might be living in Manhattan. The two kids eventually intersect at the American Museum of Natural History (but of course 50 years apart!).
The film intercuts the two time periods revealing similarities in their journeys. Haynes is a master at developing characters that are struggling with loneliness and connection. Rose’s story is shot in black-and-white and aided by a moving score by Carter Burwell. Simmonds voiceless performance is impressive for the newcomer. Many of the scenes rely on her expressions. When she exits the movie theater, you can see the shock on her face that talking pictures will end the silent movie era. When Ben arrives on a bus to the Big Apple, Haynes creates a funky ‘70s vibe before the gentrification of the city takes hold. Ben steps off the bus into a seedy New York. When he tries to find a bookstore that is his only clue to the whereabouts of his father, another boy Jamie (Jaden Michael) befriends him. Jamie’s father works at the American Museum of Natural History and shows Ben a secret room where he can rest before continuing with his journey.
There is a lot to admire about the film. The production designs of the museum and a scale-model diorama of New York City are impressive. It’s also nice to see Williams as the mother but she hardly gets any screen time. It’s difficult to make a connection with the children since their stories are abruptly intercut so frequently. It takes a good deal of patience to finally learn about the mystery. There is an inventive stop-action animation piece that cleverly reveals the connection. It just seems that it is too little too late. You just cannot help but feel impatient with the pacing of the story. The fact that much of the film has little dialogue makes it feel like a silent movie. This works better for Rose’s story versus Ben’s. When you have so many scenes of people writing down notes to each other, it slightly diminishes the cinematic resonance.
If you want to admire it for the cinematography, the set design and the magnificent score, by all means it is worth your time. However despite Haynes’ best efforts, the narrative is too plodding and disjointed to deliver the complete magic. ‘Wonderstruck’ is a meticulously crafted film that unfortunately disappoints.
