2017 ( USA | Hong Kong ) ( Drama, Family )
DIRECTOR: Stephen Chbosky
STARRING: Jacob Tremblay, Owen Wilson, Julia Roberts
Based on the New York Times bestseller, ‘Wonder’ tells the incredibly inspiring and heartwarming story of August (Auggie) Pullman, a boy with a deformed face who enters fifth grade, attending a mainstream elementary school for the first time. At first other kids bully him and call him Freddy Krueger. In the course of the movie, not just Auggie but almost all the other characters also learn to confront their insecurities. He brings out the best in them. The screenplay, though, is surprisingly witty and well-observed. ‘Wonder’ makes serious and perceptive points about friendship, coming of age, endurance and basic human decency. It shows us plenty of bad and despicable behaviour but it puts that behaviour in context. Those who bully Auggie the most viciously are, of course, the most insecure, and kindness always trumps everything else in the end.
Wonder is a tearjerker but it is well crafted, intelligent and sincere. Make sure you take a hankie.
(1hr 53min)