How two stories separated by fifty years converge in Todd Haynes's cinematic mystery
In short: Wonderstruck interlaces the parallel quests of two deaf children living half a century apart. By contrasting the visual language of 1927 silent cinema with the gritty urban aesthetic of 1977, director Todd Haynes crafts a unique mystery about memory, connection, and the profound power of silence in storytelling.
Directed by Todd Haynes and based on Brian Selznick’s 2011 novel, Wonderstruck follows two children on separate journeys. In 1927, Rose runs away from New Jersey to find her idol, actress Lillian Mayhew. In 1977, Ben, recently orphaned and made deaf by an accident, leaves Minnesota to search for his father. The film frequently switches between these two timelines, creating a puzzle that invites the audience to discover how these disparate lives eventually intersect.
The film’s visual identity is central to its narrative. Cinematographer Edward Lachman shot the 1927 segments in black and white using 35-negative anamorphic film, drawing inspiration from silent-era directors like F.W. Murnau and King Vidor. Conversely, the 1977 sequences utilize a gritty, color-negative style reminiscent of 1970s classics such as Midnight Cowboy and The French Connection. Haynes intentionally avoided a purely literal aesthetic, opting instead to evoke the distinct visual languages of each period.
A key priority for the production was authentic representation. Haynes insisted on casting a deaf actor for the lead role, eventually selecting Millicent Simmonds, who worked with American Sign Language interpreter Lynette Taylor on set. This commitment to deaf experience was integral to the film’s exploration of communication and identity. While critics noted that the film’s ambitious tonal shifts were not always perfectly seamless, it received generally favorable reviews for its emotional depth and visual ambition, earning a 71 out of 100 on Metacritic.
Premiering at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival, where it received a three-minute standing ovation, the film serves as a rare example of a family-oriented project that treats its subject matter with mature complexity. By bridging the gap between the silent era and the late 20th century, Wonderstruck functions as both a technical experiment and a soul-stirring meditation on the mysteries of human connection.
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- Summary by Intellect · source: Wonderstruck (film)
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