Focused Favorites: PHOEBE IN WONDERLAND

FOCUSED FAVORITES is an ongoing taste of my personal favorites, narrowed down with a fine-tooth comb, into very specific categories and topics. It’s a way I can share some of my personal choices in film and hopefully introduce others to films they may not have otherwise seen or even heard of. Enjoy!

I’m doing something a bit different this time for Focused Favorites and I’m focusing on a single film. Why, you may ask? Well, this particular film exists amongst a category that is thin with options to begin with, but “good” ones are even more scarce. In other words, I might subtitle this Getting it Right.

PHOEBE IN WONDERLAND is a film that truly shocked me, not in a bad way, but in a way that spoke to me and connect with the story. Part of this was certainly due to my own personal connection to the story, but it’s also very much the feeling that this movie effectively conveys a conversation too often ignored, too often misunderstood or disrespected.

Written and directed by first-timer Daniel Barnz, this is the story of a young girl named Phoebe, played by Elle Fanning, the younger sister of Dakota Fanning. This is apparent as the two look strikingly alike. Elle gives a wonderful performance that is very well-layered for an actress at the age of 9-10 years old at the time the film was made. Her mother is played by Felicity Huffman and her father is played by Bill Pullman.

We’re thrown into Phoebe’s dilemma from the very beginning, as she is already familiar with her own unique situation, but does not understand it as something being “wrong” with her. This idea of her being abnormal is only put into her mind by school faculty ignorant of Phoebe’s true situation. She is labels a problem child and finds herself in a tug-of-war between her mother who loves and supports her and the school principal who does not truly understand and simply wishes to write her off as a nuisance.

Phoebe’s mother is a writer who happens to be writing a book about Wonderland (as in Alice’s) which instills a certain fascination in Phoebe’s mind. When she discovers that her school is auditioning for roles in a production of Alice in Wonderland, she nervously throws herself at the opportunity. It is Miss Dodger, (played by Patricia Clarkson) the faculty member putting the play together, who realizes something special in Phoebe despite her struggle and encourages her to embrace herself for who she is and never to give up on what she wants in life. It is a combination of Phoebe’s mother and Miss Dodger that allow her to open up and begin to break free of the hold that Tourette Syndrome has on her life.

The film itself has a great deal of charm and the performances are wonderful, in that high-quality film for the whole family fashion. Pullman is believable as a father who is both stressed to his max and scarred of what his daughter’s condition will mean for her life. Huffman is fabulous as Phoebe’s mother who puts every ounce of her being into supporting her daughter, while also protecting her from the negative influences that surround her, including an initial backlash against the doctors before she realizes one of them truly has Phoebe’s best interests at heart. The special effects during Phoebe’s fantasy sequences are clearly the product of a limited budget, but work very well within these constraints.

For these reasons, in addition to the overall admirable quality of the film, I am regretful for having taken so long to finally experience this charming and family-friendly — but honest — story of the difficulty that often accompanies growing up with Tourette Syndrome. This is a movie that does great justice not only with sharing the turbulent experience children have with the disorder, but also with the turbulence, ignorance and confusing emotions that parents, school faculty and child peers experience in the company of a child with Tourette Syndrome.

In the past, only a handful of movies have given screen time to Tourette Syndrome. Until now, my favorites have been accomplished artistic works of cinema, but have not done a great deal for improving the stigma of living with Tourette Syndrome, nor has have they efficiently and compassionately given a decent portrait of the child’s point of view.

NIAGARA, NIAGARA (1997) which is a very adult story, not readily accessible to children and while I do greatly appreciate the film, does not win favor with many for it’s negativity. Starring Robin Tunney as Marcy, a troubled teenager who has Tourette Syndrome, NIAGARA, NIAGARA focuses on how bad things can be for such a person despite her efforts and how she travels the path of an outsider and outcast. It’s her love for her boyfriend that keeps her spirits up, but ultimately cannot change the tragic obstacle that her choices will lay before her. This film is only available in the US on VHS and not easily acquired at that, outside of eBay and Amazon.

On the other hand, THE TIC CODE (1999) tells a story much more from the point-of-view of an adult who continues to live with Tourette Syndrome, but has developed ways to conceal his condition and succeed as a jazz musician. Tyrone, played by Gregory Hines, meets a boy who also has Tourette Syndrome and finds inspiration in Tyrone, but Tyrone resents the boy’s and his mother’s acceptance of the disorder that has made his life so difficult through the years. This film is available in the US on DVD, but isn’t likely to show up on an store shelves, meaning you’ll have to either special order this one or rely once again on Amazon.

Something I’ve noticed in recent years is a tendency for movies, primarily comedies of the lower-brow variety, to make comedic fodder of people living with various types of handicaps, a word which a hesitate to use but for ease of explanation. I am not a person who feels a filmmaker or artist of any kind should censor themselves or be told what they can and cannot create, but in fact encourage this. So, I’m not going to jump on some soap box here about how these films (you know who you are) hold no interest to me and I generally try my best to avoid them. Of course, this isn’t always possible.

So, this brings me back to PHOEBE IN WONDERLAND. This isn’t a comedy. It is very clearly a drama. However, I make this transition because perhaps the most significant and valuable aspect of this film is it’s usefulness in helping others understand and learn about Tourette Syndrome and the effects it has on those who live with it and theirs families who often struggle not only to understand it but also to cope with it’s unfortunate social side effects.

I encourage anyone and everyone who has an interest, or even just questions or curiosity, to give PHOEBE IN WONDERLAND a chance. View the film with an pen mind. If you’re a critic, I might recommend viewing the film without the goggles of being a film critic… see if it has a different affect on your experience. Not all movies are strictly for entertainment and this is one great example. If you’re a student, a parent of a student (with or without Tourette Syndrome) or especially a teacher, please… I insist that you watch this film just as a way to better understand the diversity of people who live around us in the world. Below is the trailer for PHOEBE IN WONDERLAND to serve as an appetizer.

PHOEBE IN WONDERLAND may have only had a limited theatrical release, but fortunately the movie is readily available on DVD. Reasonably priced for purchase at Amazon.com, while also available for rental through Netflix, either on DVD or as an instantly available streaming movie to your computer or Netflix-equipped Blu-Ray player, Tivo device, X-BOX or PS3 gaming systems.