The First A-List Film I Have Seen This Year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                         Now that the year is beginning to wind down, A-listers will be coming, fast and furious.  Even if "Wonderstruck" does not turn out to be THE best film of the year, it will be remembered as one of the best, and another triumph for its creator, Brian Selznick.  Yes, of THOSE Selznicks.  "Wonderstruck" is every bit as good as "Hugo."

                                          Todd Haynes' last film was "Carol," which we all went crazy over, girls.  It was a thoroughly adult story that helped popularize and bring back Fifties graciousness--white gloves worn at luncheon, consisting of poached eggs and creamed spinach with some white wine.  Remember, girls?????  We were doing it, for months!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                            This is the first film Haynes made I can recall being directed at both children and adults.  By children, I mean those ten and up, for there is much to learn and discover in "Wonderstruck" that will go over the heads of smaller children.

                                               The story is an exercise in Dickensian structure, which is helpful for children to learn, with coincidence and connection fusing all together, by the end.  Millicent Simmons, as the young Rose, is luminous, and gives one of the most sensitive performances yet seen by a child.  The entire film is not only a superb observation of the adult world through the eyes of children, but of deaf children, in particular.  Millicent is actually deaf, herself.

                                                  The set design in art direction used in recreating distinct periods of time are remarkable.  The world becomes both a fanciful and fearful place for both young Rose and Ben (Oakes Fegley). whose stories take place in 1927, and 1977, respectively. Of course, the past sequences, with the luminous Miss Simmons taking everything in, are the most compelling and artistic parts of the film, but Mr. Fegley is important in his own right, and when Julianne Moore walks into that used book shop, the film turns to the present with a stunning visual beauty and a satisfying ending that had me in tears.

                                                  "Wonderstruck" is many things--a New York movie, a children's story adults can appreciate, and a unique depiction of how children view the world around them.  You have GOT to see it.

                                                   The film left me awestruck, and the climactic shot took my breath away.

                                    All this, and Julianne Moore, as luminous, as always.  "Wonderstruck" is a film of artistic beauty.