Simply A Masterpiece

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Wonderful acting from the young leading lady! In fact, the entire cast is brilliant and the film wonderfully colorful and entertaining, as a young girl becomes obsessed with a play. The film blends many genres seamlessly without any one of them becoming overbearing. Very good film indeed!

Phoebe Lichten (Elle Fanning) suffers OCD and other behavior problems. She has trouble coping with other kids. Her mother Hillary (Felicity Huffman) is defensive. She takes Phoebe and younger sister Olivia (Bailee Madison) to the ballet. Phoebe is so enchanted that she signs up for 'Alice in Wonderland' with teacher Miss Dodger (Patricia Clarkson). Her male friend Jamie gets the Queen of Hearts role while she gets Alice. Hillary is writing her dissertation on Alice and Phoebe often daydreams as Alice. As she deteriorates, her parents send her to see psychiatrist Dr. Miles. Olivia is sick of her sister. There is disruption in class as the kids fight.Elle shows her acting ability. She is able to hold the screen while doing some difficult work as the unstable character. The movie has a few issues. Miss Dodger explaining the meaning of the word faggot is wrong-headed. It's also literally the wrong use in a deliberate way that is false. There is one scene where all the kids start attacking her verbally and the teacher does nothing. It seems unlikely even with the evil teacher trope. The only way I can see that work is if Phoebe imagined most of it. It's possible but awkward story telling. There are other little issues that keep the movie from being its best although Elle Fanning is undeniable.

Elle Fanning was just.. I have no words. Why didn't she get any fame from this and yet she did for Somewhere, where she didn't do much? She was brilliant in Phoebe In Wonderland. She really made the film a whole lot better. At first I thought it was going to be boring but now I have changed my mind completely. If nobody has watched this yet, then I think you should. This isn't a kids film, which at first, I thought it was. The Trailer makes it look like It's about a girl who gets a role In an play, but actually there's more to it than meets the eye. I especially liked the part where Phoebe's mum noticed that Phoebe had been hurting herself, I actually got tears In my eyes.

Acting, directing, costumes, cinematography all splendid. Elle Fanning is a brilliant actress - such a delight to watch. Everyone was marvelous.The film is artistic, passionate, compassionate, REAL, heartfelt, intelligent, insightful... it skillfully brings the viewer into the life of a family struggling with a difficult and baffling problem. Why does a person in a loving family behave in ways that cause problems? Just STOP DOING IT. That's how it feels - the family members, school, and the person with the problem ALL want to know what the heck is going on. The film does a beautiful job showing this.I'm baffled to see all this talk about - and in the filmmaker's description apparently, Tourette's syndrome but not OCD. Absolutely baffled. Did the screenwriter not know he was creating a character with a pretty bad case of OCD? I'm completely flummoxed by this.In fact, the most obviously evident symptoms, very early in the film, were those of obsessive-compulsive disorder. I think the film did a SPLENDID job of showing the torments of OCD. It's an anxiety disorder that can be crippling. So many of her behaviors were textbook OCD. The things she had to do to be sure she got into the play - or to protect herself from bad things happening, the excessive hand washing. I don't know what was up with her knees - I must have missed that.The Tourette's was less prevalent in the film. It caused problems, that's for sure. But OCD is more prevalent in the film - it's the symptom we see the most of. Spitting is uncommon with Tourette's - thank goodness. And swearing is uncommon, as well, although people often thing that's the only symptom. Tics are small motor movements and sounds such as throat clearing, sniffing, coughing etc. are quite common. It's common to see blinking, shrugging, grimacing or mouth opening, kicking...I've been asked if I thought she was psychotic. If she literally was seeing and hearing those characters, then yes, there was a psychotic disorder. But psychosis is so rare in young children. She's so young - and I don't know if the filmmaker was depicting her fertile imagination, so it's impossible to say. Psychosis is not a symptom of Tourette's syndrome or obsessive-compulsive disorder. I love to see films that depict these sorts of problems and show the full complexity of the PERSON. I loved how the mother was angry at the doctor and refused to accept it. I loved how she accused him of not really caring, of wanting to just shove her daughter into a diagnostic box and medicate her instead of really being helpful. I loved that because I've sat in a room with that very same mom a number of times. A mom with ENORMOUS love and concern for her child - Felicity Huffman was brilliant. Bill Pullman was brilliant, as usual. Bailee Madison gave us a perfect little sister - a tough spot for a child to be in.Love the film. Is shows a REAL family with REAL struggles. It shows REAL parents trying to weave their way through the difficult and confusing waters of a troubled child. It shows a REAL child who doesn't understand what the hell is going on and is frustrated because she doesn't know how to articulate what she's experiencing.I don't hate the shrink; I often do in films. He's okay. Not great, but not horrible. I'm accustomed to shrinks in films being idiots. Or lechers. Ugh. I wasn't all that crazy about him, but he wasn't horrible. The way he handled his pad and pen... c'mon! You don't do that! It's a splendid way to SHUT IT DOWN. If that was the filmmaker's goal, it was spot-on. A sort of averageish… or maybe a bit less than average - shrink. Good job with that.The high school principal was an idiot. I hope there isn't ONE like that in the world. Probably is. Sigh...This film is wonderful. I strongly recommend it to anyone... it should be shown in schools. It should be shown in homes. It should be shown in churches. It shows REAL people - parents with their own personal struggles and disappointments dealing with a difficult child and staying together, loving each other, accepting all their flaws and CHOOSING LOVE - choosing to stay together and live each day together - through struggles and through happy times. It is REAL.