reviewed by Charity Bishop
     

A touching story about triumph in spite of adversity, Phoebe in Wonderland follows the imaginative adventures of a child forced to overcome great personal hardships.

Phoebe (Elle Fanning) is different. Unlike the other children, she is not interested in playing tag. She spends large amounts of time alone. She is obsessive compulsive about washing her hands, and often does "bad" things without meaning to or being able to stop herself. Things like spitting when she feels intimidated or angry. Her well-meaning but frustrated parents (Felicity Huffman, Bill Pullman) don't know what to do about her, and her younger sister Olivia (Bailee Madison) just tries to keep her in hand in public. That's when Miss Dodger (Patricia Clarkson) joins the school as the new drama teacher. Her ethereal grace and majestic form inspire Phoebe and make her want to try out for their production of Alice in Wonderland. At first her awkward shyness puts off Miss Dodger, but when Phoebe begs for a second chance, the teacher realizes that this unusual little girl was born to play the role of Alice.

Practicing and focusing on the play is all that keeps Phoebe content in a life ripe with turmoil. Her mother is struggling with being a stay at home mom. The book she has been trying to write for several years has been temporarily shelved, since she is too exhausted to work on it. Meanwhile, her husband has managed to land a publishing contract for his novel, arousing a hint of professional jealousy between them. As stress continues to build at home, Phoebe begins to act out among her peers, forcing her parents to admit there may be more wrong with her than just eccentricities. What follows is a touching and also heart-wrenching story about a family coming to terms with a challenging handicap. Anyone who has raised a child with problems will understand the difficulties they face; others will find Phoebe's odd behavior strange and irritating. She is eventually diagnosed and this enables all of them to learn to live with her condition and how to help her. There is a subtle message contained therein about knowledge assisting in understanding, and Phoebe's determination to be all she can be in spite of her problems is inspiring.

This is a small production but does feature exquisite performances, especially from young Elle Fanning. Her picturesque face and beautiful emotions transform Phoebe into a delightful little girl striving to break out of the bondage of her social limitations. Phoebe comes alive beneath Fanning's delicate approach and the last scene in which the audience comprehends that at last she has found peace in who she is resonates with a surreal radiance. It is an immensely satisfying conclusion. The supporting cast is quite good as well but Patricia Clarkson is especially luminous as Miss Dodger, the mysterious and inspiring teacher whose subtle influences make such a dramatic and powerful change in everyone's life. Her presence is ambiguous and left me wondering if she is meant to represent a higher influence of some kind. That's really what makes the film extraordinary, its quieter moments and ability to allow the viewer to reach their own conclusions as to the meaning behind different incidents. As she becomes more engaged in the play, Phoebe begins imagining the people around her as different characters in the book, and so interacts with the Caterpillar, the Red Queen, and other fairy tale creatures. The meaning behind this is unclear, but to me represented her intellectual awakening.

While the film is demure in its content there are a few unfortunate things -- including one use each of the f-word, GD, and s**t. Those are the only noticeable profanities. One of Phoebe's male schoolmates is all of ten years old and shows an unnerving lack of awareness of the distinctions between boys and girls. He plays with dolls, is perfectly well-kept, and tries out (and wins) the role of the Red Queen in the play. Whether or not he does this because he wants to stretch his acting talents, because it is a chance to be someone else, or because he feels more drawn to being a girl is not explored, but it does open the door for some discussion about homosexuality. One of his classmates scrawls the word "faggot" on his costume; Phoebe later blurts out "fag" to him before she can stop herself. Miss Dodger has them look up the word faggot, and then lectures them on not using words they do not understand. She also reminds them that for many years, male actors portrayed women on the stage. Olivia and Phoebe tease their parents about knowing where babies come from, and make some mild references to reproduction amid giggles.

The value in this film is that it allows us to see into the lives of people dealing with severe problems. Phoebe has an extreme case of OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) that often leads her to be incapable of stopping whatever she is doing -- whether it is dangerous to herself or not. She bloodies her hands scrubbing them clean in the bathroom (the act is never seen, just the scraped knuckles), and bruises and scratches up her knees since she cannot seep to stop jumping up and down stairs. Once, she launches herself from a trapdoor in the theater (she is not hurt, but there are serious consequences). She describes her condition as wanting to constantly throw herself off a roof -- not because she wants to die, but because she feels compelled to do it. Her Tourettes make her blurt out embarrassing and inappropriate things at the worst times. More impacting is a tearful conversation between her parents about the challenge faced in raising a child with special needs; it is a brutal and honest exploration of the blend of frustration and love that goes with it. It's not a movie that gained much critical acclaim but it does impress with its delicate and imaginative approach to a difficult topic. It is not likely to resonate with everyone but it is quite sweet.