I saw this movie last night, and it was excellent. Young Elle Fanning is gorgeous, and her acting is so good it's unfair. Patricia Clarkson plays the theatre teacher who is seemingly detached from reality, and plays it well. Felicity Huffman and Bill Pullman both did well, but Pullman's role was, I felt, too small. Campbell Scott was both hilariously inept and depressingly realistic as a (presumably) elementary school principal unwilling or unable to see the beauty and talent in each of his charges. However, where this movie falls apart is the ending. Yes, it was cute and sweet, disgustingly so, but I had two problems with it. My first problem is that there's no way in hell that what Phoebe had was a simple case of Tourette's Syndrome. I saw another review saying that she showed symptoms of OCD, depression, and schizophrenia. I agree with this, and I have to ask what the writers were thinking when they decided that TS was an appropriate explanation for what was clearly so much more. My other problem is the way they ended the film. Yes, it's sweet, and cute, and it makes me want to puke, but it's not how a lot of these stories end. Lots of these types of stories end with the child killing or severely injuring themselves. This was also the direction I thought the movie was going to go, what with Mrs. Dodger constantly telling her students to "jump", and then Phoebe's comparison to jumping off a roof. While I don't think suicide or severe injury is a good thing, I feel that a more powerful message may have been conveyed had Phoebe died or been irreparably injured, and had the students, parents, and school faculty been forced to face and deal with the tragedy. I love this movie. Elle Fanning is an amazing actress, and unfairly gorgeous even at a young age, but I hate the ending, and it makes me sad to think that if this movie had been done today, and by a more talented writer, director, etc., it could have been perfect.
Review of Phoebe in Wonderland
