Wonder (2017) [Movie Review]


Dir: Stephen Chbosky
Starring: Owen Wilson, Julia Roberts, Jacob Tremblay.
Dur: 1 hr 53 mins
Genre: Drama
Rating: 9/10

I don’t reckon you have heard of the Treacher Collins disease, if you watch Wonder you will get a pretty good idea about it, not the biological part of it obviously but the social effects. The film is pretty emotional and well told, little wonder that it was an adaptation of a novel of the same name by R. J. Palacio. The cast however, are pretty good and deliver smashing performances, particular mention must be made of Julia Roberts and Owen Wilson. The whole story is really fantastic and believably unreal but then again it’s actually a story about kids for kids.

It follows the adventures of a kid with the above mentioned disease, August, who is sent to school for the first time after being homeschooled by his brilliant mother. He is picked on and ostracized by nearly everyone because of his looks but eventually gets accepted and blah blah… happy ever after. The overall story is extremely predictable but the novelty lies in the way relationships are depicted and explored, and the nature of the disease. The film appeals to the emotions and could prove to be a tearjerker. I should know. Despite the predictability, I still found myself brushing aside tears at the end. I would have appreciated a slightly different ending but I guess… who am I anyway…

I think the film is incredible and children could really enjoy watching and learning something from it. It deals with a variety of affective issues and looks at the same reality from different people’s viewpoints which is quite enlightening since it helps broaden one’s knowledge about facts, situations and people before one passes judgment on them. The film did very well at the box office, grossing about 285 million on a 20 million dollar budget. I thoroughly enjoyed the film. Make it a point to watch it, if possible show it to kids. It’s fun, it’s educative and it’s entertaining.

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