Wonder (2017)

There are some films that just look like they won’t be artistic. One of the usual culprits for this is the inspirational family drama: movies like The Blind Side, as good as they are in their acting and ability to wave their emotional wands to cast a spell over their audience, they lack any unique flair when it comes to their direction and perspective.

I was expecting the same out of Wonder, which follows a child with Treacher Collins syndrome struggling to fit into a normal school environment. Treacher Collins involves a lot of physical disabilities and hardships, including significantly altered facial features, that would undoubtedly make entrance into middle school (the period addressed by Wonder) so much harder than it would be otherwise…and it’s not like it was easy to begin with. Basically, I thought this movie would bank on sympathy for Augie, the central character.

Instead, Wonder tells Augie’s story from countless perspectives, and it really works in its favor. The fact that it doesn’t just focus on a few characters but on almost everyone who could have been affected by Augie – everyone from his mother to his sister’s former best friend – makes it have a far deeper look at how people like Augie affect the lives of others. Director Stephen Chbosky (of Perks of Being a Wallflower fame) does this skillfully with some non-linear moments of storytelling in which each of these characters get a good few minutes directly under a microscope, explaining some unanswered questions about their place in the film while also providing additional layers to Augie’s own story.

The performances in Wonder help this dramatically. Owen Wilson gives his best performance in five years (looking at you, Midnight in Paris), and Julia Roberts gets out of the way, not overacting but actually being a believable mother for Augie and his sister Via. Izabela Vidovic does a fantastic job as Via, being both a supportive yet still overlooked part of the family. Jacob Tremblay as Augie definitely tugs on the heartstrings, and he does a beautiful job performing through his intense makeup and delivering what is necessary to make the film work.

That Wonder is so well acted didn’t surprise me nearly as much as the way the film’s heart is augmented by its unique storytelling. If the film weren’t so well-directed, I doubt it would have made as much impact as it did, simply because the additional perspectives it brings to the table help showcase its themes that much more prominently. Although its genre is typically mundane, Wonder gives a welcome break from the formula of inspirational dramas, and that alone makes it worth seeing.

My recommendation: Definitely see it.

My grade: 82/100