 | |
List Price: $27.98 | | Label: Image Entertainment
Salesrank: 20064
Released: June 23, 2009 |
| Our Price: $15.24 |
| Used Price: $1.67 |
|
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
Stills from Phoebe in Wonderland (Click for larger image) 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:
Hard to rate this movie 
2009-12-14 - This movie is very hard to rate. First off, the trailer I saw completely misrepresented this movie, making it seem like it was a cheerful, light-hearted movie about a young girl who is offbeat, imaginative, and misunderstood. Going into the movie with this expectation threw me off because the movie is not this at all, but it takes a while to reveal what it really is about. Meanwhile, I kept wondering when the lighthearted part was going to start. It is not lighthearted. It is a very serious movie about ...
BEGIN SPOILER
... a young girl, Phoebe, who is developing Tourrette syndrome with some associated OCD behavior. (As an aside, the Tourrette syndrome behavior pictured in this movie is pretty accurate.) She knows something is wrong but she just can't help saying and doing the things she is doing that are causing so much disruption in everyone's lives. Her mother is in denial about the severity of the problem and also blames herself for Phoebe's behavior, thinking she just hasn't been a "good enough" mother.
It doesn't help that Phoebe's been attending a school that is more about rigidity and mindlessly following the rules than it is about preserving the natural creativity all children have before they enter public school. A new drama teacher, played brilliantly by Patricia Clarkson, brings some wisdom into Phoebe's life, but ultimately there is no real happy ending. (There are hints that the teacher has a mild form of Tourrettes herself.) Phoebe has the disease, she isn't going to get better (though she might be able to manage her symptoms with medication), and that's that.
Also, Phoebe sees and talks with characters from Alice in Wonderland. That is never fully explained. Is it her imagination? Is it a different mental symptom? We never find out, though the movie seems to be leaning toward it being part of her Tourrette syndrome.
Some loose ends with her parents are left untied as well.
END SPOILER
BUT. The acting is incredible, especially from Elle Fanning. The writing and cinematography are excellent. The pacing is a bit uneven, but overall fine. The story itself is perhaps one that needs to be told. But the movie is sad. It is a drama. It has real people behaving in real ways, for the most part, and that is also on the plus side, but it was hard to watch all the way through because it became clear that Phoebe was a train wreck happening in front of our eyes and there was nothing that was going to happen to prevent that wreck. The only positive thing is that people finally acknowledge the train has wrecked and decide to cope with it.
So, overall, five stars for the acting and the script, one star for the misleading trailer, three stars for the pacing...it averages out to three stars total. maybe three and a half.
This is not a family film. I would not have young children watch this. Teenagers and above, yes. But be prepared to talk about it and to ask some of the questions that are only hinted at.
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.
