Phoebe in Wonderland

Phoebe Lichten (Elle Fanning) suffers OCD and other behavior problems. She has trouble coping with other kids. Her mother Hillary (Felicity Huffman) is defensive. She takes Phoebe and younger sister Olivia (Bailee Madison) to the ballet. Phoebe is so enchanted that she signs up for 'Alice in Wonderland' with teacher Miss Dodger (Patricia Clarkson). Her male friend Jamie gets the Queen of Hearts role while she gets Alice. Hillary is writing her dissertation on Alice and Phoebe often daydreams as Alice. As she deteriorates, her parents send her to see psychiatrist Dr. Miles. Olivia is sick of her sister. There is disruption in class as the kids fight.

Elle shows her acting ability. She is able to hold the screen while doing some difficult work as the unstable character. The movie has a few issues. Miss Dodger explaining the meaning of the word faggot is wrong-headed. It's also literally the wrong use in a deliberate way that is false. There is one scene where all the kids start attacking her verbally and the teacher does nothing. It seems unlikely even with the evil teacher trope. The only way I can see that work is if Phoebe imagined most of it. It's possible but awkward story telling. There are other little issues that keep the movie from being its best although Elle Fanning is undeniable.

I saw this movie at the Provincetown International Film Festival, and teared-up multiple times throughout it. Elle is an amazing little actress, who captures the spirit of Phoebe beautifully, and both Felicity Hoffman and Bill Pullman do an excellent job portraying pained and conflicted parents, trying to understand their young daughter. Daniel does an amazing job here, both as the creator of the story, and as the director, allowing the audience to see through both the eyes of the child and the eyes of the parent. He demonstrates a great deal of creative potential, and I can't wait to see what he does next.

Everyone should see this movie.

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!

When it's good, it's terrific, including an amazing performance by a very young Elle Fanning as a mentally troubled 8 year old, and good work by Felicity Huffman, and the always wonderful Patricia Clarkson.

On the other hand, the very talented Campbell Scott is reduced to playing a one note joke, and the tone of the film is all over the place; odd quirky comedy one moment, a child contemplating suicide the next.

But the real problems are when the film's Lifetime network roots show through, and suddenly there's that warm, fuzzy, phony feeling that being a kid with severe emotional problems isn't all that bad, and everything will be just fine. It undermines the film's interesting attempts to really get inside a struggling kid's head.

None-the-less, the film gets real points for trying, and about 80% of the time, this is a very good, and very original film.