Production company: THINKFilm
Director: Daniel Barnz
Cast: Elle Fanning, Felicity Huffman, Bill Pullman, Patricia Clarkson, Campbell Scott
Rating: PG-13 for thematic material and brief strong language.
By Gregg Tubbs
(UMC.org)—Have you ever lost yourself in a daydream or escaped to a pleasant fantasy when life got a little stressful or dull? Phoebe in Wonderland is an inventive and insightful family drama about a young girl with a vivid imagination and dreams of a special world free from problems. The film also offers an unflinching look at the challenge of parenting, especially when you have a complex, troubled child. Throughout the film, fantasy and reality freely mix and help teach lessons about love and forgiveness, about trying to see through the eyes of others and about the dangers of rushing to judgment.
A hit at last year’s Sundance Film Festival, Phoebe in Wonderland is a revealing psychological drama that uses heavy doses of fantasy to explore the mind of a child with unexpected behavioral problems and the impact this has on her family, school and friends. Written and directed by newcomer Daniel Barnz, the story revolves around two characters, Phoebe (Elle Fanning), an eight year-old girl whose wild imagination masks deeper problems, and her mother (Felicity Huffman), a woman overwhelmed by the dual tasks of raising a complex, challenging child and writing a book about “Alice in Wonderland,” which she feels will give her life professional validation.
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Phoebe in Wonderland is an inventive and insightful family drama about a young girl, Phoebe (Elle Fanning), with a vivid imagination and dreams of a
special world, free from problems.
Copyright © 2009 THINKfilm.
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Phoebe’s behavior at school and at home becomes more troubling, and she lashes out at other children and falls into obsessive, nonsensical routines. Phoebe’s compulsions cause her mother to struggle with feelings of both maternal and professional failure. She resents that her husband (Bill Pullman) can continue with his work, while she neglects her book to attend to Phoebe. Salvation, of a sort, comes when the school’s enigmatic drama teacher, Mrs. Dodger (Patricia Clarkson), begins auditions for a production of “Alice in Wonderland.” Perhaps by chance or fate, the play and its connection to her mother’s book become the catalyst for Phoebe’s increasingly erratic behavior, but also ultimately draw mother and daughter closer together.
Phoebe wins the part of Alice and excels as the girl lost in a curious and confusing world. However, as she loses herself in the role, her behavior goes further downhill. She becomes convinced that she must either “pray a lot or do something she really hates” to get the part and be a great Alice. Since she’s not sure there is a God, she subjects herself to a series of obsessive, ritualistic tasks: skips, jumps and handclaps on stairs that leave her with bloody knees and an increasingly panicked family. For this cycle to be broken, her parents and teachers—and Phoebe herself—must try to redefine their concept of normality, stop judging Phoebe by strict rules and assigning blame for what proves to be more complex than simple misbehavior.
In many ways,
Phoebe in Wonderland provides a pointed critique of conformity, explored through the story of a girl who can only begin to understand the unique workings of her own mind by going “down the rabbit hole” into the topsy-turvy world of Wonderland. The film also deals honestly with the challenges of being a parent as well as their human frailties. There are no perfect parents, just loving people who are doing the best they can to raise their children. This is an important lesson for Phoebe’s mother who punishes herself, and indirectly her husband, over her feelings of inadequacy as a mother. Although this sounds very cerebral, the film’s flights of fancy into Wonderland provide magical and emancipating moments of revelation.
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The story revolves around two characters, Phoebe (Elle Fanning), an eight year-old whose wild imagination masks deeper problems, and her mother (Felicity Huffman), who is overwhelmed by the task of raising a complex, challenging child. Copyright © 2009 THINKfilm.
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The film also leads credence to Jesus’ words, “Do not judge, so that you may not be judged.” (Mt. 7:1-2, NRSV). Everyone is quick to judge Phoebe: she’s rebelling; she’s “acting out”; she’s selfish or undisciplined. But this rush to judgment leads to heartache. No one—especially the school’s rigid principle (Campbell Scott)—has tried to
understand why she is behaving as she is. Instead, like the Red Queen in “Alice in Wonderland,” they want to skip the trial and go straight to the verdict. Understanding comes both through professional help and, touchingly, through the adults’ recognition of themselves in Phoebe. They realize that they too occasionally have irrational urges, say things they shouldn’t and are all a little “different.”
I would caution that
Phoebe in Wonderland is not really a children’s movie, but rather a movie about childhood. The story will speak to parents, teachers or anyone who works with children, as well as anyone who has forgotten what it’s like to be a child trying to make sense of the adult world. The film also celebrates the power of imagination and its ability to make life’s mysteries easier to understand.
Study Questions:
- Have you ever, like Phoebe, used your imagination to escape from reality? How can this be helpful at times?
- What did you think when Phoebe’s friend said, “You either need to pray a lot or do something you really hate to get what you want?” Do you agree with such a concept?
- How did Phoebe’s desire to win the role of Alice explain some of her behavior? How much did it mask her real problem?
- Do you think we should pray for what we want? Do you think it depends on what you’re asking for?
- What did the film have to say about conformity and individualism? Do you consider yourself a conformist?
- Do you believe God made us all different? How so? Or does he expect us to all think and act the same way? (See 1 Cor. 12:12-19.)
- What does the film have to say about judging people without understanding their point of view? What did Jesus say about judging others? (See Matt. 7:1.)
- What was the symbolism of the “Alice in Wonderland” story? Who was the Red Queen? Why did the psychologist appear as Humpty Dumpty?
- What character from the story did Mrs. Dodger, the drama teacher, represent? How does her name relate to her teaching style? How did she instruct her students in the way that Jesus sometimes taught? (See Luke 10:25-28.)
- Have you ever felt like “jumping” as Phoebe does? What did Mrs. Dodger mean when she told her to jump?
Resources
Official Phoebe in Wonderland site
Theatrical Trailer
