In these weeks before the Academy Awards, I always find
myself binge watching nominated films either in the theater, streaming them
online, or getting the DVD. Thus, after viewing films like Get Out, Dunkirk, Phantom Thread, Lady Bird and more, I got hooked
on Wonder – nominated only in the
category of Makeup and Hairstyling – thanks to my young son’s desire to see it.
The film Wonder,
based on the New York Times
bestselling children’s novel by R. J. Palacio, is not just a story for kids –
it sends a powerful message to people of all ages about the importance of
treating everyone with respect. It also features strong performances by Julia
Roberts, Owen Wilson, Mandy Patinkin, and young Jacob Tremblay (so memorable as
Jack in Room) in the role of Auggie,
a young boy suffering from Treacher Collins syndrome that causes him to have
facial deformity that has required 27 surgeries.
Directed by Stephen Chbosky (The Perks of Being a Wallflower), Wonder deftly tackles the difficult story of a boy who has been
home schooled by his mother (Roberts) because of his appearance. Auggie’s visage
is at first jarring – we see him walking around in a NASA space helmet that
obscures his face. When he takes it off his ears are like globs of flesh, his
eyes seem a bit askew, his cheeks pulled down and scarred, and there is a
feeling that he has been in a car accident or fire and had plastic surgery.
Tremblay overcomes this with a powerful and earnest
performance, imbuing Auggie with such depth of heart and soul and love, and we
get that all he wants is to have the world accept him as he is, but his parents
recognize that middle school doesn’t always work that way. Mom Isabel has put
everything into Auggie’s life and education, but she makes a stand about him
going to school in hopes that he will be able to have a semblance of a normal
life despite the objections of her husband Nate (Wilson).
The first day of school, not easy for most kids to begin
with, does not go very well. The things that make Auggie a regular kid – he
loves Star Wars movies, Minecraft,
outer space, playing with his X-Box, and likes sports – matter little to the
other ten-year-old kids that are in his class at Beecher Prep, especially
Julian (Bryce Gheisar) who picks on Auggie and makes fun of his braided
ponytail, which Auggie wears to be like a Padawan in the Star Wars films.
After suffering all day with Julian's bullying, Auggie goes home and storms into his sister Via’s (Izabela Vidovic)
room, grabs her scissors, and cuts off the ponytail, symbolically severing his
protected childhood in a warm, loving home, from what he now must face out in
the totally cruel real world.
Despite his difficult first day, his parents convince him
to go back to school. Auggie accepts that he will have to endure the taunts of
Julian and his buddies but Jack (Noah Jupe), one of the boys in Julian’s group,
decides to sit with Auggie at lunch one day. They begin to form a friendship,
with Auggie even bringing him home after school much to the delight of Isabel.
Things seem to be going well, and although still bothered
by the other boys, Auggie likes school because of Jack. Halloween comes –
Auggie’s favorite time of year because he gets to wear a mask – and he is ready
to go to school dressed as Boba Fett from Star
Wars, but his dog throws up on the costume. Auggie goes to school dressed
as Ghost Face (from the Scream
movies), but Jack is expecting him to be Fett. When Auggie goes into the
classroom Jack notices Auggie but doesn’t know it is he (a clever plot device
reminding me of Shakespeare’s use of characters in disguise) so, when prodded
by Julian, Jack says negative things about Auggie causing him to run out of
class and asks the nurse to tell his mother that he is sick.
Thus Halloween, Auggie’s favorite holiday, is destroyed
and so are his spirits. Once home he is unaware that he has ruined a
mother-daughter day Isabel and Via have planned. Via, a complex character in
her own right, has been feeling neglected because her parents’ world seems to
revolve around Auggie, but she deeply loves her brother and decides to forget her
own plans and puts on a costume to try to salvage Auggie’s Halloween.
Now we reach the point where we ask the salient
questions: can Auggie ever get the kids in the school to treat him like any
other kid? Will Via, who has become estranged from her own best friend Miranda
(Danielle Rose Russell), be able to join the drama club and find new friends,
and will Isabel and Nate reconsider their decision and go back to having Isabel
home school their son again?
The answer to these questions is spoiler territory, but
the way Chobsky gets you to the end is worth not knowing because it is an incredibly
enjoyable trip. One of the key things that makes this film so successful is
that Chobsky makes a movie about a child with facial deformities not just a
movie about a child with facial deformities. Using a chapter-like format, he
lets the audience get to know
Chobsky’s other amazing accomplishment is that he has
made a Julia Roberts movie that is not a Julia Roberts movie. Julia always
shines in films (as she does here), but her innate spark is tempered, and she
slides into Isabel’s shoes in a way that is convincing and necessary. She also
works well with Wilson – whom we expect usually to be engaging in shenanigans
of some kind – who is thoroughly believable as the dad who will play video
games and bang plastic toy Star Wars
lightsabers all day long, but also adds nuances as the concerned father who
wants to do what is best for his kids.
The rest of the cast seems perfectly suited for each
role, with Mandy Patinkin’s Principal Tushman a comic gem. The setting mostly
takes place in the warmth of the Pullman family brownstone and the children’s
schools, and there is a sense of those places importance in the overall story.
While the film will definitely entertain its target tween audience, it has been
crafted in a way as to appeal to all ages.
After watching the movie together, I realized it had a
profound effect on my son. He identified with Auggie’s situation and could
relate to his appreciation of all things Star
Wars, but the main takeaway he had was that the film was truthful – kids
can be mean, but they have to be shown and taught the importance of kindness.
In essence that is what the film is all about – kids,
teachers, and parents doing the right thing and treating people well. It is
something Auggie learns from his parents but, as we see in the film, even some
parents need a lesson too, and thus watching this movie provides numerous
teachable moments.
Wonder, as
the titles implies, is wonderful, and a great film to watch with the whole
family and is highly recommended.
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