Wonderstruck

Based on Brian Selznick’s novel, Wonderstruck unfolds in two entirely separate time periods and follows a circa 1920s young girl (Millicent Simmonds’ Rose) and a ’70s boy (Oakes Fegley’s Ben), both deaf, as they arrive in New York City for the first time. Though it boasts a relatively conventional opening stretch, Wonderstruck progresses into an impressively (and thoroughly) audacious midsection that transpires with virtually no spoken dialogue – as the narrative details the largely silent exploits of the two central characters. (Furthering the less-than-typical vibe is director Todd Haynes’ decision to present the Rose story as a period-appropriate, black-and-white silent film.) It’s just as clear, however, that Selznick’s meandering screenplay results in a somewhat less-than-consistently engrossing atmosphere, with the movie suffering from a handful of lulls that are exacerbated by a palpably overlong running time. (There is, for example, a padded-out stretch involving Ben’s sojourn at a New York museum.) The somewhat middling second act eventually gives way to a compelling and much improved final stretch, as the narrative begins to adopt a decidedly fascinating feel once the two stories converge (eg there’s a spellbinding scene set at the Queens Museum’s Panorama of the City of New York) – which ultimately cements Wonderstruck‘s place as an engaging, often exhilaratingly off-the-wall piece of work.

***1/2 out of ****