Phoebe in Wonderland

Tonight my husband , son and I went to the High Falls Film Festival in Rochester, NY to see this film. Bill Pullman spoke about the film briefly before they started the movie. My husband falls asleep during every film we see. Tonight he did not even get sleepy. We were all amazed at how incredible this movie was. My husband said he was just "Captivated" through the entire show. I was so impressed. My son loved it. The cast is supportive and just "Present" throughout the film. After the show Bill Pullman was kind enough to sign our movie festival poster and pose for photos..even though the stupid flash decided not to work. He was kind, gentle and very humble. This is a film that will stay with you. I know that the three of us left that theater changed. I would have said before that the best comment one could get about a movie is that it made you laugh or cry what ever they were going for. But the truth is that this movie changed us. I don't think I could tell you when I last felt that way. The movie is not hitting you over the head with it's subject matter it's just captivating. It tends to make you feel like you want to be a better person. I don't know if that makes any sense to you or not. It's just fantastic.

I remember childhood as a time of striving to fit in, or despair at not fitting in, or being in limbo between the two. Sometimes a book, like Alice in Wonderland, captured my imagination, and, for a while, it didn't matter that I was different.

This movie accompanies us on a journey of discovery; showing us the bad places, the hurtful places, the thoughtless places, and the beautiful, magical, touching places that make up a life's geography. The impeccable Patricia Clarkson gently pulls our grimy, jammed-in- hands out of our pocket hiding places and shows us the beautiful truth at the center of our uniqueness.... that is, if we can identify with delightful, difficult Phoebe.

A wonderful ensemble cast of actors, notably diverse in age, experience and ethnicity, tell the story of this "misfit child" and the way such a personality churns up the water within her family. There is no escape for her loving, conflicted, and anguished mother, so beautifully portrayed by Felicity Huffman in what I believe to be her best performance to date. In large part, she and Phoebe play hide and seek throughout the journey, each fearing to hurt the other, each loving the other too much and understanding too little the myths and mysteries each must negotiate.

Bill Pullman, (does he get tired of the Everyman reference I wonder?), no less concerned about the condition of his daughter(s), or his wife, sensitively struggles to find his way to support and care for his family. It is my hope that his performance will inform fathers everywhere: be involved with your children, know them, insist on your important role and, resist letting mothers be the only experts.

Whew! I'm telling you, this movie got me thinking!

If a writer writes words on a page to move people, to touch their emotions...Danial Barnz did a wonderful job of work with me and the other people in the audience at the L.A. Film Festival. I wasn't the only one gasping at the intricate and amazing sets, laughing at the ironies and juxtapositions, or sniffling (it was a 5 tissue movie for me!) when the charming Elle Fanning bravely faced her obstacles and challenges as she wound her way through her daily rabbit hole in the crucible of grade school.

We all remember that one, but here with a principal-- played by Campbell Scott--almost sinister in his devotion to decorum and conformity. Manipulative and slightly malevolent, he sees only the problems and none of the gifts of the children in his care.

I have had "Phoebe flashbacks" daily since seeing this movie. Maybe the wonderful, fanciful costumes, or the austere demeanor and dress of Miss Dodger, or the pain on a child's face when a grown-up says something innocuous that isn't to a child, or the ballet that brings both joy and anxiety to a sensitive little girl, Dad and Mom struggling separately to achieve unity and discovering that no one can do it alone. To me, these are rich gifts and the reason I so love the movies.

It might be called a little movie, but I don't think so. It is a huge and mythic movie dressed up in a small, soft rabbit costume which you will love.

A personal thank you to everyone concerned with making this touching, big, little movie. Work well done! And, I hope it goes into wide distribution so that I can take my own family and friends on this charming, poignant journey.

What a brilliant film. From the art direction, to the writing and directing this was almost flawless. The acting was above-par, and somehow, the best child actress to come along in decades, Dakota Fanning, has been upstaged by her little sister, Elle. I had an awful day, full of suburban bigots and homophobes and was starting to feed into it. I randomly watched this movie and found solace in a nine year old boy overcoming the same stuff I dealt with today. Maybe that sounds pathetic, but it was the quiet reminder I needed today. Thanks to the filmmakers, not only was I thoroughly entertained, you brightened my evening.

I just saw this movie in Rochester NY at the High Falls Film Festival. Bill Pullman introduced the movie.

To put it simply, this was a terrific movie! One of the best I have seen in a long time. How it is scoring so low on this site is beyond me. I would not trust the ratings on this site if this movie is scoring so low.

Elle Fanning is amazing in her role - one of the best performances I have ever seen by a child actor. Felicity Huffman gives her normal strong performance. Bill does not have a big part in the movie but plays it very effectively. Patricia Clarkson's performance as the drama teacher is perhaps the 2nd best in the movie behind Elle's. The rest of the cast was stellar as well.This movie holds you in its spell throughout. It's moving, funny at times and captivating in its style. Ignore the ratings - see this movie!

Elle Fanning did great acting, considering she was only 10, but also because the role was complex at a level of magnitude to a normal one. She had to play a girl playing a role. How fitting, considering the inherent recursiveness of Lewis Caroll's work, around which the entire story revolves.

The movie can be brutal some times, some times a little annoying, some times even boring, but it is great when you realize that at the time, some character in the movie is feeling the same emotion. It is not an easy movie. The wife, always afraid to get too deep into a movie, completely freaked out, but I enjoyed the movie tremendously.

Bottom line, think Ballet Shoes with Tourette syndrome and a level of self reference worthy of Alice in Wonderland. I can only advise you to prepare for watching the movie, because bathroom and snack breaks or eating popcorn while watching it is not going to cut it.