This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

a charming puzzle. high performances. and admirable work of Elle Fanning. a film who remands the colors of childhood and, in same measure, the status of contemporary family. a film about refuges and the need of the other. fresh, amusing, melancholic, honest. about a girl and her strange world. about a teacher who gives more than inspiration. about a mother looking her role in her life. profound pledge for old fashion values, it is an open window to a magnificent definition of small things. and that fact does it special. because it is a trip in the heart of things with profound delicacy. a film about the sense of things. as child. as adult. as part of the others existence.

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!

Back in 1998, Kate Beckinsale played the title character in a modern adaptation of Lewis Carroll's "Alice Through the Looking Glass". The adult Beckinsale went into the reverse world behind the looking glass in a confusingly marketed children's film that many potential viewers believed was for mature audiences.Ten years later "Phoebe In Wonderland" provides another visit to the looking glass world. The title character is played by a child (Elle Fanning) and thanks to more confusing marketing, this time potential viewers think that it is a children's movie. I've even seen the DVD of this PG-13 film proudly on display in the children's sections of video rental stores.It's not a children's film although there are sequences in the film that would appeal to many children. It is a strange blend of "Girl, Interrupted" and Jena Malone's 1997 film "Hope"; with the same thematic structure as "The Dust Factory". Writer/Director Daniel Barnz has crafted a puzzling little film that seems to have a lot to say but doesn't do a very clear job of saying it. I suspect that much of the story is autobiographical. The story is told from the point of view of the title character and Barnz does an excellent job of acting for the camera direction with all members of his film's strong cast. Which means that the confusion seems to lie not in the execution but in the construction. Branz apparently intends the story to be more allegorical than real; with general themes about freedom, individualism, conformity, and expectations. The only clear message is the importance of having the courage to live life to the fullest, to not let fear or the need for acceptance keep you from letting go of security and "jumping" (like Alice jumping down the rabbit hole although technically that is a different story).The Tourett's Syndrome stuff is inserted as a literary device. Everyone spends much of their interaction time suppressing the impulse to "spit" out a few assorted truths and unkind comments. These things are better left unsaid and the task of leaving them unsaid is more difficult for those who tend to resist conformity and have the least need for the approval of others.Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

I had not seen, nor heard of this film prior to a recommendation from Netflix. As a fan of works that bridge reality and imagination, I had high hopes, and was not disappointed. The characters feel honest and accurate. The acting is solid across children and adults, leading and supporting roles. Fanning and Clarkson are particularly brilliant, while Ian Colletti is surprisingly strong in a challenging role for a young boy. The directing style and camera movement effectively conveys the roller coaster of emotions and perceptions young Phoebe has, without overpowering subtleties in the acting. The music is perfectly in sync, a rarity in independent films today. Most importantly, the heart of the story captured me immediately and completely.There were, however, some flaws which keep this from achieving perfection. The first being Felicity Huffman's hair. It is clearly a wig and has an unnatural look about it. It looks like one used for the "cancer patient" on a medical drama. That should have been fixed. The next being slips in pace. 95% of the film is at Phoebe's pace. She is our hero, she moves the story. That works great. In the few scenes between just Pullman and Huffman, however, the pace slows, creating an awkward hiccup. Minor changes, maybe just in editing, could have solved this.Finally, and most detrimental, is the "official" diagnosis of Phoebe's condition. The whole film shows her spirit and imagination pitted against her struggles with an affliction. That makes her this special individual, someone we care about. The conclusion, however, gives her this label, a diagnosis. What she has doesn't matter. How she deals with it does. Barnz should have taken a note from Tim Burton's "Big Fish." Burton didn't conclude the journey by forcing Edward Bloom to see the world as everyone else did. His son Will, instead, finally views the world through Edward's eyes. Barnz concluded Phoebe's journey with a simple diagnosis, rather than a profound revelation. Unfortunately, Phoebe's revelation is what I really wanted.While not perfect, it still remains captivating, moving and enchanting. This story, under the direction of Tim Burton, Spike Jonez or Barry Sonnenfeld (see Pushing Daisies), may have been perfected. Under Bo Welch or Chris Weitz, it could have been forgettable. While Barnz lacks experience, the story is close to his heart, and that's what shines through. It's not perfect, but it's pretty close.