Mysterious connection between eras in director Todd Haynes' Wonderstruck

Millicent Simmonds stars in Wonderstruck.
Millicent Simmonds stars in Wonderstruck. PHOTO: SHAW ORGANISATION

REVIEW/DRAMA MYSTERY

WONDERSTRUCK (PG)

118 minutes/Opens today/ 2.5 stars

The story: Two story threads, one occurring in the 1920s and the other in the 1970s, are intercut, resolving into one at the end. In the 1970s story, Ben (Oakes Fegley) is an orphan who yearns to know more about his parents. He spots a clue about his father in a book, and runs away to follow it. In the 1920s, Rose, deaf actress Millicent Simmonds, chafing under the control of her strict father, also runs away to New York City.

This is a movie that regards children, and children's stories, in a grown-up way. It is serious without being sombre, and heartfelt, but without sentimentality. But what it does not have is a sense of fun. Director Todd Haynes imbues this project with a stateliness and melancholy that does not feel completely justified.

The twin-thread device is taken from a critically acclaimed 2011 novel by Brian Selznick, who adapts his own screenplay for this film. He is also the author of The Invention Of Hugo Cabret (2007), which was turned into 2011's Hugo, directed by Martin Scorsese.

Haynes, an acclaimed director known for Oscar-nominated dramas such as Far From Heaven (2002, and featuring Julianne Moore, who also appears here); and Carol (2015), finds himself dealing with a work that needs to unfold as much plot as it does character. Both children go on the road and meet people who provide clues that deepen the mystery of the connection between Ben and Rose.

Ben and Rose have a curiosity and pluckiness that make them strong protagonists and, mostly, what they discover on their journeys is interesting. But because they are children, Haynes is kept from doing what he does best, which is to deal with what adults prefer to hide from others and themselves.

But he does get to exercise his visual lushness. He chooses to film the 1920s scenes in black and white and borrows from the style of the silent movies, while the 1970s portion, also shot on film, recalls the colours and mood of films from the era, such as Midnight Cowboy (1969). It is a typically restrained approach for Haynes, in contrast to Scorsese's over-the-top look and pacing for Hugo.

The mystery that is the engine of the story - or rather, one that is supposed to be the engine - is a bit of a non-starter. Relationships between people from two eras should be important in a story, but to make it a device feels like a cheat and not a very good one either.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on February 08, 2018, with the headline Mysterious connection between eras in director Todd Haynes' Wonderstruck. Subscribe