*** Three stars out of four"Wonder".
I saw the new movie "Wonder" over the weekend. The movie is based on a best-selling, widely-acclaimed story of a young man with a facial deformity and his first year of attending a public school.
The movie stars Julia Roberts in a winning role as the little boy's devoted mother, Owen Wilson as his witty, sensitive and caring father, and Jacob Trembley, as Augie, the little boy.
All are wonderful and wondrous ( pardon the pun). The movie is very real and honest, the dialogue true. When there are kid scenes, the kids talk and act like kids.
It's an interesting premise: Augie has always been home-schooled due to his many surgeries for his facial deformities. Fearing Augie was becoming isolated and needed social interaction with other children, his parents bravely make the decision to allow Augie to attend middle-school with so-called "normal' kids.
They know there will be stares and hurt feelings and probably taunting and bullying. Children can be really good at making fun of others who are different. I know this from experience.
It hits on things like loneliness, as no one sits with Augie in the lunchroom. It takes a few brave kids to look past Augie's physical appearance and into his heart and soul.
Augie wins friends- and ultimately respect- by his gentle nature, his brain ( he is a whiz at science) and his humor as well. He is simply a kid trapped inside of a body he had no choice of owning.
What I found refreshingly different about the film was that the movie didn't always center on Augie. There were segments which focused on his older sister ( Brilliantly played by young actress Izabela Vidlovic)and his friends- and even bullies.
The sister's angle was interesting, as most movies about people with special needs focuses on them alone. As a line states in the film, 'Everyone needs a standing ovation" and Augie's sister is torn with sadness and guilt. She feels for her little brother and understands that a special needs kid has special needs and may require more care and attention. However, she feels neglected somehow by her family , and turns to a drama class in school which plays a big part in the story- giving her a satisfying outcome which we all need in life.
Thai movie should be seen by kids of all ages, if only for the topic of bullying. The book is required reading in a lot of schools, and in the packed theater where I saw the film, a good half of the audience was kids, especially teenage and younger.
"Wonder" shows us what it's like to be bullied mercilessly and the effects and consequences of such actions. It Oslo focuses on Augie's friends and how they view him and their own feelings about their relationships with someone "different" in such a peer pressure age and world.
You'll cry a little butt he movie isn't overly mawkish, although the ending is a bit sentimental. I was touched how the family dog was worked into the story as well, described as a "friend" who would always be there to support Augie every time he returned from a hospital trip.
One of the key themes of the movie is "Choose Kindness." Words for everyone to live by.
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