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Wonder

Romessa Nadeem
Nov 20, 2017
3 min read

Rating 8/10

Directed by Stephen Chbosky

Starring

Jacob Tremblay as August Pullman

Owen Wilson as Nate

Julia Roberts as Isabel

Wonder is a film that exudes positivity and optimism, just by the name alone. It brings to mind good things and qualities, as does the content of the film. It’s a movie so endearing, it would be almost cruel to say anything too harsh. What’s remarkable is the fact that it never becomes too sentimental or sappy. It remains at most an (excessively) optimistic take on reality.

For young Auggie, or August Pullman, the reality he has to face (one in which optimism is difficult to find) is the one caused by a deformity inflicted at birth; a genetic abnormality forcing him to have to undergo extensive reconstructive surgeries. He’s been home schooled all of his short life and, as he enters the fifth grade, his ever supportive parents decide it’s about time he begin regular middle school. Thus Auggie must remove the astronaut’s helmet he wears and face the world, facial disfigurements and all.

Sounds like a tale told before. Disfigured kid steps out into the big bad world only to find friends and know that true beauty comes from within? Sounds pretty cliché, right? Of course, here it just works. Auggie is a smart kid, with a vast imagination that serves as a coping mechanism for his disfigurement. Jacob Tremblay, whom I expected great things from due to his performance in the tragic Room, delivers on each front.

Wonder is a film which substitutes maudlin cheesiness for genuine sentiment and expression. It’s never too schmaltzy and even if it is, it feels earned. It’s the fact that these characters are allowed to develop and grow in front of us that it rarely ever feels too overdone. Auggie’s older sister, Via, is shown to always put his needs first, much to her own neglect. Julia Roberts and Owen Wilson, oozing parental concern, appear terrified as their son heads off to a new school, and we feel their apprehension. Their scenes with Auggie are some of the most heart touching.

Auggie’s experiences with the somewhat familiar characters around him remain very much grounded; particularly his friendship with a boy named Jack. Chbosky’s organic exploration of the stories of each character later goes on to provide a tough emotional core for Wonder (as if Auggie’s predicament is not enough).

Yet Wonder throws away all restraint which it had previously shown. An overwhelmingly sentimental climax in front of a school assembly (yes, they went there) is enough to detract some of the more skeptical hard hearted viewers.

While some may argue that Wonder oversimplifies and trivializes abnormality, it does what it set out to do. It’s a feel-good family film, one with an enriched beating heart that manages to surpass expectations. What could be seen as naivety could also be seen as optimism, even if misplaced. I however believe that if you let it, this movie has overwhelming potential to make you think that, to quote hobbit Samwise Gamgee, “there’s some good in this world – and it’s worth fighting for.”

If you enjoyed Wonder, check out A Street Cat Named Bob, a film about a poor recovering drug addict all alone to face the world – his only companion being his cat, Bob.