Amateur movie with Big budget

It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review

This film is bad. Don't bother with it.The girl obviously has something wrong with her (self harming, violence, etc..), and the parents don't want to do anything about it. She goes to see a therapist, and he recommends medication for the girl. He is fired. Seriously, what the hell?? He is just trying to help her.Also, the PARENTS Don't TELL HER (or anyone else) THAT SHE HAS TOURETTE SYNDROME!!!! How could someone try and hide the reason of the child's behaviour that she clearly is worried about herself.This film is just absolute s*hit. If you want to see a GOOD Drama film, I would recommend 'White Oleander'. THAT is a film worth watching.Final Review: 1/10

Watched 21 minutes of this 71 minute flick. All I could handle. Really wanted to like it but here's the problems: a) So far the mom has just cried or been on verge of tears in every scene. Really? In front of dinner guests at a "party"? Man that'd be fun! Oh and way to take out your failed writing career on your 8 year old daughter.b) Didn't take Hollywood long to ruin the entire movie by adding sexual deviancy to the mix. Really? An 8 year old boy playing the Queen of hearts. Director is clearly a pedophile. Let's just groom them young. Congrats pervert.Do not let your children watch this movie for any reason, unless of course you want them to be homosexual.

When it's good, it's terrific, including an amazing performance by a very young Elle Fanning as a mentally troubled 8 year old, and good work by Felicity Huffman, and the always wonderful Patricia Clarkson. On the other hand, the very talented Campbell Scott is reduced to playing a one note joke, and the tone of the film is all over the place; odd quirky comedy one moment, a child contemplating suicide the next. But the real problems are when the film's Lifetime network roots show through, and suddenly there's that warm, fuzzy, phony feeling that being a kid with severe emotional problems isn't all that bad, and everything will be just fine. It undermines the film's interesting attempts to really get inside a struggling kid's head.None-the-less, the film gets real points for trying, and about 80% of the time, this is a very good, and very original film.

Back in 1998, Kate Beckinsale played the title character in a modern adaptation of Lewis Carroll's "Alice Through the Looking Glass". The adult Beckinsale went into the reverse world behind the looking glass in a confusingly marketed children's film that many potential viewers believed was for mature audiences.Ten years later "Phoebe In Wonderland" provides another visit to the looking glass world. The title character is played by a child (Elle Fanning) and thanks to more confusing marketing, this time potential viewers think that it is a children's movie. I've even seen the DVD of this PG-13 film proudly on display in the children's sections of video rental stores.It's not a children's film although there are sequences in the film that would appeal to many children. It is a strange blend of "Girl, Interrupted" and Jena Malone's 1997 film "Hope"; with the same thematic structure as "The Dust Factory". Writer/Director Daniel Barnz has crafted a puzzling little film that seems to have a lot to say but doesn't do a very clear job of saying it. I suspect that much of the story is autobiographical. The story is told from the point of view of the title character and Barnz does an excellent job of acting for the camera direction with all members of his film's strong cast. Which means that the confusion seems to lie not in the execution but in the construction. Branz apparently intends the story to be more allegorical than real; with general themes about freedom, individualism, conformity, and expectations. The only clear message is the importance of having the courage to live life to the fullest, to not let fear or the need for acceptance keep you from letting go of security and "jumping" (like Alice jumping down the rabbit hole although technically that is a different story).The Tourett's Syndrome stuff is inserted as a literary device. Everyone spends much of their interaction time suppressing the impulse to "spit" out a few assorted truths and unkind comments. These things are better left unsaid and the task of leaving them unsaid is more difficult for those who tend to resist conformity and have the least need for the approval of others.Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.