I saw this movie last night, and it was excellent. Young Elle Fanning is gorgeous, and her acting is so good it's unfair. Patricia Clarkson plays the theatre teacher who is seemingly detached from reality, and plays it well. Felicity Huffman and Bill Pullman both did well, but Pullman's role was, I felt, too small. Campbell Scott was both hilariously inept and depressingly realistic as a (presumably) elementary school principal unwilling or unable to see the beauty and talent in each of his charges. However, where this movie falls apart is the ending. Yes, it was cute and sweet, disgustingly so, but I had two problems with it. My first problem is that there's no way in hell that what Phoebe had was a simple case of Tourette's Syndrome. I saw another review saying that she showed symptoms of OCD, depression, and schizophrenia. I agree with this, and I have to ask what the writers were thinking when they decided that TS was an appropriate explanation for what was clearly so much more. My other problem is the way they ended the film. Yes, it's sweet, and cute, and it makes me want to puke, but it's not how a lot of these stories end. Lots of these types of stories end with the child killing or severely injuring themselves. This was also the direction I thought the movie was going to go, what with Mrs. Dodger constantly telling her students to "jump", and then Phoebe's comparison to jumping off a roof. While I don't think suicide or severe injury is a good thing, I feel that a more powerful message may have been conveyed had Phoebe died or been irreparably injured, and had the students, parents, and school faculty been forced to face and deal with the tragedy. I love this movie. Elle Fanning is an amazing actress, and unfairly gorgeous even at a young age, but I hate the ending, and it makes me sad to think that if this movie had been done today, and by a more talented writer, director, etc., it could have been perfect.

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.

I have to start off by saying that Elle Fanning is Incredible!! OK. Now that the facts have been stated… Throughout the entire film we feel along with Phoebe's suspicions that she is in fact different from other children. Something seems off and a bit odd for a child. OCD is rather obvious but there's something more. We struggle along with her parents in trying to discover what really is going on with our adorable heroine.The camera work was impressive. In one scene in particular, as the parents are fighting, phoebe and her sister are above them far off watching. The camera shows them in between the parents while they are fighting. We know their marital troubles involve the children and their priorities differ. They never seem to see eye to eye when it comes to their children, especially Phoebe.Besides Phoebe's family issues, I appreciated that we witness the discrimination Phoebe and her best friend, Jamie go through on a daily basis at school. Children attacking other children verbally, at times physically, and even out casting them is a real issue and I'm glad they made this movie as realistic as possible. Children go through a lot too and they really let us see that.All of the emotion was well portrayed through the actors. Realistically portrayed, the struggles of a family especially if the family has a child with special needs. The strain on parents and on the sibling was made quite obvious and rang true to reality.Among the incredible acting, plot, script, and camera work, the music was also impressive. It really backed up each and every moment with the desired feeling of the scene. It successfully strengthened the emotion in the scene.Patricia Clarkson and felicity Hoffman are just jaw dropping. They are well-respected actresses for a reason and Phoebe in Wonderland proves that.With an absolutely brilliant cast, Phoebe in Wonderland was nothing short of phenomenal. It is a sweet, inspiring drama. Complete with humor, a bit of mystery, and family dramas; Phoebe in Wonderland accomplished the ever sought after, 'whole package' film. It was a new twist on an old tale. It was risky, but quite successful.

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.