One feels that talking non-stop is the answer to getting away from the elephant in the room. One puts on a friendly façade that masks an ill-informed but nevertheless cruel nature. One is clearly a good egg at heart, but out of uncertainty and ever-present peer pressure, hesitates to demonstrate that ideal.
All plausible. All genuine. And, all are reflected by three kids as they give a school tour to a new student.
It is one of the first scenes of the movie “Wonder,” based on the 2012 best-selling book by R.J. Palacio and directed by Stephen Chbosky.
The new student is August “Auggie” Pullman (Jacob Tremblay). Auggie is just like any other 10-year-old boy. He plays “Minecraft,” and is a big “Star Wars” fan and whose passion in school is science. He even has his own NASA space helmet. The helmet, however, serves as his security blanket on many occasions. Auggie was born with a genetic disorder which caused his facial features to be deformed. He even has all his wristbands from his hospital visits as a “memento.” As a result, he has been home-schooled by his mother, Isabel (Julia Roberts) through fourth grade.
With the prospect of starting the first year of middle school, Isabel and Auggie’s father, Nate (Owen Wilson) seize upon the opportunity for him to be as close to being in the same boat as the other kids as possible and to start public school. On his first day, he removes his helmet and ventures inside school to face his own great unknown.
The film points out that Auggie is the Sun. His family and friends, therefore, are the planets encircling him. A great strength of the film is the inclusion of the individual stories told by these “planets” and how they revolve around Auggie. We watch from the perspective of Auggie’s older sister, Olivia “Via” (Izabela Vidovic) as her life takes a backseat to that of her little brother’s. We also see Via’s best friend, Miranda (Danielle Rose Russell) achieve a wave of sudden popularity by falsely proclaiming that she has a brother with Auggie’s condition.
Speaking of planets, the film also makes clever references to other elements of space to illustrate points on the spectrum of Auggie’s experience. At his most content moments, he’s in full astronaut attire, bounding down the hallways as if he’s taking a leisurely stroll across the Moon’s surface. Chewbacca even makes an appearance, as the furry guy draws a nice parallel to illustrate Auggie’s apprehensions about standing out.
The performances, especially by the film’s young talent, are exceptional. Jacob Tremblay, starring in his second film adaption of a book, continues to demonstrate such a level of mature authenticity, which he first brilliantly displayed two years ago in “Room.” Noah Jupe, playing Auggie’s best friend, Jack Will, brings a nice conflicted honesty to the film’s good egg. He plays a role that many found ourselves in as children. It’s hard sometimes to go against the grain of the popular crowd, but if you think you’re right, then, it’s worth doing. Izabela Vidovic brings a restrained but strong internal strength to Via. She accomplishes the difficult juggling task of providing emotional support her brother needs while finding her own place in the world.
“Wonder” may be a bit sentimental at times, and the movie does borrow from subject material first seen in the 1985 film, “Mask” which depicted the true story of teenager Roy “Rocky” Dennis’ struggles with a similar condition. “Wonder,” however, does echo a powerful message that every kid should take with them at the earliest of ages. As Auggie’s teacher puts it, “Be kind for everyone is fighting a hard battle.”
