Felicity Huffman Movie:

		List Price: $27.98		Label: Image Entertainment Salesrank: 10998 Released: June 23, 2009
		Our Price: $9.99
		Used Price: $5.84
		MPAA Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested) Media: DVD

Editorial Review:
This heartfelt, fantastical story of a troubled, imaginative girl (Elle Fanning, The Door in the Floor) devoted to Alice in Wonderland explores the agonies of growing up as an outsider and the complexities of parenting. Oscar nominee* Felicity Huffman (Transamerica, TV's Desperate Housewives) gives one of the most powerful performances of her career as Phoebe's guilt-ridden mother. She and her perplexed husband (Bill Pullman, Independence Day) initially see Phoebe's unusual behavior as signs of creativity, but with the help of an unconventional drama teacher (Oscar nominee** Patricia Clarkson, Lars and the Real Girl), they soon realize that their daughter is in danger of falling "through the looking glass."

*Best Actress: Transamerica, 2005 **Best Supporting Actress: Pieces of April, 2003

Description of Phoebe in Wonderland:
Daniel Barnz’s directorial debut, Phoebe in Wonderland, is an important film in regards to teaching children not to fear psychological challenges. Of course, this is also the key effort in about half of all children’s films. But what sets Phoebe in Wonderland apart from other more saccharine examples is the accurate portrayal of protagonist Phoebe’s onset of Tourette’s syndrome, and the fantasy scenes that hedge her tragic reality against an Alice in Wonderland escapism. Phoebe in Wonderland is a family drama about Phoebe Lichten (Elle Fanning), who lives with two author-parents, Hillary (Felicity Huffman) and Peter (Bill Pullman), who encourage her imagination. Phoebe yearns to participate in the school’s Alice in Wonderland performance, headed by the mysteriously alluring drama teacher, Miss Dodger (Patricia Clarkson), who also champions Phoebe’s strange digressions. The film traces Phoebe’s imagination as it becomes increasingly obsessive, and the viewer is privy to both Phoebe’s internalized interpretation of what is happening to her and her behaviors from an exterior perspective. This is smart, and makes for some interesting scenes, such as when Phoebe sits in the principal’s office being reprimanded, hearing both his comments and those from Wonderland, warning her about the future. Another layer of story enriches the symbolic significance of Wonderland, when one learns that Phoebe’s mother is writing a novel inspired by Carroll’s. From here, the mother-daughter evolves in complex ways, and the mother’s defense of her child is an integral part of the narrative. Like Juno, Phoebe is a bright, witty girl whose eccentricities make the movie a charmer. Though there is an unfortunately facile ending attached to Phoebe in Wonderland, it feels tacked on to a movie that provides wonderful insight into cultivating children’s tolerance of atypical behaviors, which is much needed. --Trinie Dalton

Phoebe in Wonderland Reviews:
Special little girl
2009-10-19 - If you know of, or have, a child who is full of light, sparkle and whimsy - plus her own person, you will find here a film to touch your heart.

Elle Fanning is phenomenally fine as Phoebe, the beautiful and strange ten year old. You will love her performance.

A small but unforgettable film in which Patricia Clarkson shines as the kind of teacher we all hope our kids will have, at least once. Instead of seeking to control, restrict or punish children, she allows them to fully expand and embrace their individuality as they grow, and come alive!



I DON'T KNOW WHO I AM TODAY...
2009-09-21 - Elle Fanning (Dakota Fanning's Younger Sister) is the lead in this haunting and painfully beautiful film centered around Alice in Wonderland. You may recognize Elle as a younger version of Dakota in "I Am Sam" and she was also the "Future Granddaughter" of Fern in Charlotte's Web opposite her sister. However, she definitely takes center stage all on her own in Phoebe in Wonderland.

Phoebe is a disturbed young girl who is "different" according to her mother. When she gets up enough courage to try out for the school play, she's cast as the lead in Alice in Wonderland. Outside of the theater, Phoebe worries that she will "be fired" from the play unless she completes certain tasks such as counting the bricks in the sidewalk to her home and leaping up the stairs in odd sequences. After her parents see her bruised hands from endless hand washing and bruised knees from falling on the stairs, they send her to see a child psychologist who thinks Phoebe might be OCD and wants to put her on medication.

However, Phoebe is completely different when she's in the theater and on stage rehearsing; she is happy and much like a normal everyday girl. Yes, the other girls think she is still different. She spits at them when they taunt her. Phoebe becomes friends with a young boy named Jamie who is also a bit different, having tried out for the part of the Red Queen and won the role. The children taunt him too and call him names for wanting to play a female role. However, both of the "special children" are applauded by the whimsical and strange Ms. Dodger who is the theater teacher and encourages the children to "do what they want."

When Phoebe starts to interact with actual characters from the story, things start to get out of hand and Phoebe might get thrown out of the play. Felicity Huffman and Bill Pullman do a decent job as Phoebe's parents struggling to want to understand what is troubling their daughter and making her act out. Mom is also writing a book about Alice in Wonderland, but this storyline is not explored as much as I would have liked. However, the connections between Mom and Daughter are there. There is one scene where Phoebe is crying in bed and her Mom is holding her. The pain the child is going through because she does not know why she is acting out will rip out your heart.

The film moves at a slow detailed and hypnotic pace ultimately leading to a few conflicts that you hope will not leave you feeling empty hearted and even more sad than Phoebe. When both child and parents discover the true sickness that Phoebe suffers from, it is all wrapped up nicely in the end and few plotlines, if any, go unanswered. This is a great film for both children and adults to share in order to teach children that it is okay to be different. Bullying is also addressed, as well as the possiblity of a child being homosexual.

Throw in the world that is Alice and the White Rabbit, and you have a great film overall that left me pleasantally surprised. I'll remember this one and be suggesting it to others for a long long time to come.



Another boring martyred mother movie!
2009-08-12 - Another politically modern mother movie to appease the feminists. You know the drill, The child is the most important thing in her life, nothing else comes close. Everything must be sacrificed for the mother's cinderella-princess fantasy she has for her daughter. The male, the husband, is portrayed as the usual irelevent, impotent, character who manages a smile and a grimace every now and then.(I don't know why men take these roles).
Finally it comes out in the movie that the mother can't stand the daughter who has a similar dislike and distrust for the mother. A typical non-functional family made worse by the mother's interference with the daughter's therapy sessions. The daughter is the real victim in this situation who is suffering from a genetic illness.
If you're in the mood for this type of soap-opera, go for it.

A Disappointing Patricia Clarkson
2009-07-23 - In "Phoebe in Wonderland," Phoebe Lichten (Elle Fanning) suffers from OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) and can't control what she says. She feels like an outcast at school, surrounded by peers who don't understand her condition and teachers who are annoyed by her constant disruption. Her mother, Hillary (Felicity Huffman), an aspiring author, goes head to head with a psychiatrist and school principal more concerned with medicating Phoebe so she'll conform to appropriate classroom behavior than with seriously attending to her issues.
A new drama teacher, Miss Dodger (Patricia Clarkson), is staging a production of "Alice In Wonderland" and, unlike other teachers, allows the kids to make suggestions, ask questions, and discover the theme of the play by themselves. Inspired by this new teacher, Phoebe decides to audition for the role of Alice.
This is a so-so film that never really engages the viewer completely. This probably explains its limited theatrical run. Fanning, four years younger than her famous sister Dakota, brings empathy to the role of Phoebe and displays a mature understanding of the character and her frustrations. Huffman plays a woman trying to finish an analytical book while maintaining a household and dealing with the demands of her daughter's condition. Her frustration seethes just below a veneer of civility until it boils over at the stonewalling of narrow-thinking professionals. Hillary's dark hair distances the character from Huffman's famous "Desperate Housewives" TV role.
Clarkson - a wonderful actress -- looks like a zombie in most of her scenes, displaying little dramatic range. She's capable of much better work.
Clarkson's character, however, is interesting. We've all encountered these "rebels" -- those who treat children as intelligent, thinking beings. She sees in Phoebe a kindred spirit, and the bond that emerges seems real. Jamie (Ian Colletti), another aspiring actor in the play, befriends Phoebe and brings his own costume to audition for the role of the Red Queen.
Writer/director Daniel Barnz uses the theme of the misfit to tie the story together. Aside from Miss Clarkson, performances are above average with young Elle Fanning anchoring the film. The DVD contains no bonus extras.

Through the eyes of a child
2009-07-18 - What is a child to do when she begins to realize that she is not like other children? And that her 'different-ness' is taking a toll on her family and alienating her friends, classmates, teachers, and others? In this lovely film by Daniel Barnz, the child "Phoebe" is beyond quirky, and she suffers not only from her own behavior but from the guilt she feels when her family members are affected by it. Lost in a world that is confusing and often harsh, she has to find her way back to what others call "normal."

I am a huge fan of anything Patricia Clarkson has done in the last ten years, and in this film she plays the loving, oddball drama teacher, "Miss Dodger." The movie is worth seeing simply for her performance, but added to that is the completely convincing way Elle Fanning plays Phoebe, making us truly believe that she is a child at wit's end. Bravo to Miss Fanning and I hope we see much more of her.

I recommend not reading too many reviews as there is a 'reveal' in this film that other reviewers will feel compelled to give away. If you are a very pragmatic, concrete personality, you may not be able to appreciate the scenes meant to show us the world through Phoebe's eyes, so this movie may not be to your liking, but anyone who understands and loves the 'different-ness' of all children will enjoy this film.