I wanted to love this movie. I really did.

But I didn't.

Phoebe in Wonderland is actually quite a charming movie for most of it. With superb performances by Patricia Clarkson, Felicity Huffman, Bill Pullman and Elle Fanning (yes, little sister of the wonderfully talented Dakota Fanning), striking visuals and excellent production, it has everything for a good film, right?

Except it meddles. And it produces too many different plot lines.

Essentially it is the story of a little girl (Fanning) who lives in a world with too many rules. And this world doesn't work for her. After being cast in Alice in Wonderland at her school, and under the guidance of the school's drama teacher, she begins to spend more time in her fantastical "wonderland". Unlike past films in this genre though, she spends time in wonderland to get away from herself. Unlike films such as say Heavenly Creatures where the girls escape to their wonderland to deal with illness or Pan's Labyrinth in which the fantasy world is created to deal with the terrors of the real world, Phoebe's wonderland is simply because she cannot cope in the real world. And that's an interesting plot. It is obvious while watching the Phoebe has some mental issues (on the OCD/Tourrette's spectrum) and for someone such as me who is studying/works in this sort of field it was interesting to see how they dealt with it.

Unlike Heavenly Creatures which suffers from its low budget production or Pan's Labyrinth which, while mesmerizing, was very dark, Phoebe in Wonderland is a mostly upbeat tale. Until the end. In the last act, the mother starts to deal with issues of Phoebe's condition. This subplot wasn't introduced much until the end. And while Huffman is superb in her role, there wasn't much leading up to her revelation of inadequacy to make this plot work.

There is also the subplot of the drama teacher. Who is she? She disappears half way through and then suddenly reappears only to disappear again. There was no explanation of her character, though Clarkson did an amazing job of creating the character

The film does succeed in creating an interesting narrative. And it introduces some issues of bullying, the meaning of words, and gender stereotypes. But it doesn't fully explore any of these. One of the most powerful scenes is after a character in the play is assigned a role (by his choice) traditionally played by a woman. One of the students later writes the word "fagot" (sic) on his costume. The resulting discussion from the teacher is moving and brilliant.

Overall, Phoebe in Wonderland is a mixed bag. The acting, the production and the script are all superb. But somehow it loses its heart, which is a shame. It gets lost and muddled somewhere. It isn't a bad film by any stretch, in fact it is a very good film, but it could have been so much better.

B

PHOEBE IN WONDERLAND - 7/10 ( B )

I really enjoyed this film. The performances by Clarkson, Huffman, and Fanning are terrific. I loved Clarkson's character, especially during one shining moment.

Recommended.

B

The subplot surrounding the parents dealing with Phoebe's "issue" starts right from the beginning, i don't now where Jeff got "until the end" from.

it's just that Huffman's character just doesn't think the "issue" is an issue.