The Oscar buzz is already buzzing around Todd Haynes’ new film Wonderstruck, based on Brian Selznick’s novel of the same name, which received a three-minute standing ovation at Cannes earlier this year. Now, you can glimpse a bit of the magic for yourself, as the first official trailer has been released.
Wonderstruck tells the stories of two deaf children who run away to the city that never sleeps, 50 years apart. In 1927, Rose (played by Millicent Simmonds, who herself is deaf) has run away from home in search of an actress she idolizes, while Ben (Oakes Fegley), in 1977, looks for the father he has never known. The new trailer flits between the two eras with ease, and from the looks of it, it seems as if both stories have successfully captured a different New York aesthetic of the past. (Additionally, Rose’s narrative in the film is presented in the silent, black and white style of her era.)
While film festival hype is usually overblown, Todd Haynes has proven adept at employing a nostalgic aesthetic in order to comment upon and critique the very notion of nostalgia itself, in previous works like Carol and Far From Heaven. Combine that familiarity with a great cast (including Michelle Williams and frequent collaborator Julianne Moore) and perhaps it’ll be the case that the filmmaker has succeeded at creating an absorbing cinematic experience yet again. Wonderstruck opens in limited theatrical release on Oct. 20.
