Film Review: "Wonderstruck" (2017).

In Wonderstruck, "It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see." This mystery drama film directed by Todd Haynes, adapted by Brian Selznick, and based on Selznick's 2011 novel of the same name. Ben and Rose are children from two different eras who secretly wish that their lives were different. Ben longs for the father he's never known, while Rose dreams of a mysterious actress whose life she chronicles in a scrapbook. When Ben discovers a puzzling clue and Rose reads an enticing headline, they both set out on epic quests to find what they're missing.

In May 2015, after the success of Carol, Haynes was attached to direct an adaptation of Selznick's 2011 novel. In April 2016, Oakes Fegley and Millicent Simmonds were cast as Ben and Rose. By early May 2016, Julianne Moore, Michelle Williams, Tom Noonan, and Cory Michael Smith were cast. Haynes said they wanted to cast a deaf actor since deafness was integral to the two stories and the driving theme in the film. He instructed his casting director Laura Rosenthal to seek out deaf children around the country and if they could not find someone, they would cast a hearing child. They sought out deaf communities and received audition tapes from 200 deaf children. Simmonds sent a recording of her audition to Haynes who in turn sent it on to Moore who instantly approved of the 14-year-old. Simmonds was cast, and on set, she worked with American Sign Language interpreter Lynette Taylor. At the same time, principal photography commenced, and wrapped in early July. Filming took place in Peekskill, New York. The 1927 scenes were filmed in black and white 35-negative anamorphic, which differs from the aspect ratio of silent films. Haynes, who was a fan of silent film directors F.W. Murnau and King Vidor, watched numerous silent films and observed that there was a wide range of styles that disappeared when sound technology made cameras too bulky to move easily. The black-and-white scenes have a near-continuous musical soundtrack and use some design features that Haynes said were "not naturalistic or literal". The 1977 scenes were filmed with color-negative film in a way that matched the visual language of films from the 1970s, and also had "a gritty urban color" like the films Midnight Cowboy (1969) and The French Connection (1971). In addition, Haynes had some of the hearing cast go on a walking tour of New York City with noise canceling headphones to be able to relate to Rose's story and experience some of their other senses heightened.

The film stars Fegley, Moore, Williams, Simmonds, Noonan, and Michael Smith. The cast, especially Fegley and Simmonds, were outstanding as the child and adult versions of Ben and Rose.

Wonderstruck is an extravagant, elegant drama with an innocence lacking in many modern films with kids at the centre, and one that emanates an unabashed love for the magic of cinema. The film should create a wider audience for Haynes, long considered one of America's leading independent directors.

Simon says Wonderstruck receives:

Also, see my review for Carol.