Phoebe in Wonderland - 4 stars

Usually the first film element that I notice about and comment on is the acting. In my opinion a good cast typically makes for a good film. It seems to me that the cast is the #1 element that makes or breaks a film. I don't know if that's because good actors have good taste in film or if the acting can cover up a mediocre script.

Phoebe in Wonderland has a fantastic cast filled with some of my favorite lesser-known actors, but its whole is greater than the sum of its parts because of the amazing script and flawless directing.

Let's start with the cast. Bill Pullman -this guy has done some diverse work that doesn't really get him noticed. I absolutely loved him in Malice, one of my favorite psycho-thrillers of all time. It's hard not to be outshone by Alec Baldwin and Nicole Kidman, but he holds his own in this movie. I've watched it repeatedly and still love it. He can rock comedy just as well, starring in Spaceballs as his second feature film. Second is Patricia Clarkson. I first saw her in the 1998 come-back movie for Ally Sheedy, High Art. Clarkson plays a drug addicted German lesbian. She was so believable that I didn't expect her to be good in other roles, which she continues to be. Felicity Huffman is known best for Desperate Housewives, but I loved her most in TransAmercia, a transsexual road movie. Phenomenal! Finally, Elle Fanning, younger sister to child-star Dakota Fanning, proves to be as good an actress as her sibling.

The synopis on IMDB is actually really good, so I'm going to quote it here:

Felicity Huffman, Elle Fanning, and Patricia Clarkson star in director/screenwriter Daniel Barnz's illuminating tale of parenting and growth concerning an exceptional young girl whose troubling retreat into fantasy draws the concern of both her dejected mother and her unusually perceptive drama teacher. Phoebe (Fanning) is a talented young student who longs to take part in the school production of Alice in Wonderland, but whose bizarre behavior sets her well apart from her carefree classmates. Her mother (Huffman) is an aspiring academic who is beginning to feel like she has not only failed in her professional career, but as a parent as well. Though Phoebe's gifted drama teacher (Clarkson) has no doubts about the young girl's talent and capacity for learning, the frustration of seeing such a promising student slowly slip ever further away from reality soon becomes a growing concern both at home and at school.

It's a coming of age/slice of life film that makes you feel one with the characters, whether or not they are in power or powerless, adult or child, mainstream or eccentric.

The final thing to note is that I watched this movie because Netflix thought that "Jim" would enjoy it. Poor Jim... I keep rating movies on his account and it recommends films that it thinks I'll like. They picked a winner with this one!