Wonderstruck film review: Charming adaptation of the Brian Selznick children’s novel
TWO lives and two very different time periods gradually melt into one story in the whimsical fable Wonderstruck.
MARY CYBULSKI
In 1977, desperately lonely 12-year-old Ben (Oakes Fegley) leaves Minnesota for New York in search of the father he has never known.
In 1927, unhappy, hard-of-hearing 12-year-old Rose (Millicent Simmonds) also heads to New York, seeking a glimpse of Lillian Mayhew (Julianne Moore), her favourite movie star.
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Rose’s story unfolds in black and white, complete with a pastiche of a Lillian Gish silent film.
Ben’s story leads him to the Natural History Museum and a friendship with Jamie (Jaden Michael).
Both youngsters seek a sense of who they are and where they belong in a big confusing world.
The connections that bind them together and the answers to their questions make for a charming adaptation of the Brian Selznick children’s novel.