Film Review: Wendy

 

 SHE'S BAAACK!

 I don’t know about you, but I couldn’t wait to get up and out of the parental house, only to find that the greater world out there was not waiting for me and – even worse – was downright indifferent to my arrival.

So I can identify with James M. Barrie’s Wendy and her desire to remain a kid and “fly to the edge of the world,” which sounds like a lot more fun.

Filmmaker Benh Zeitlin (“Beasts of the Southern Wild”) collaborated with his wife Eliza on this version of Barrie’s iconic “Peter Pan” story. This time Wendy’s mom runs a rundown diner in rural Louisiana, just steps from the train tracks.

Wendy isn’t unhappy, exactly, and nobody’s mean to her. It’s just that she wants more adventure in her life.  So one day she and her twin brothers Douglas and James jump on a train, which takes them to more adventure than they’d even dreamed of. 

They end up on a volcanic island – the Caribbean island of Montserrat, dominated by an active volcanic mountain that offers unexpected (but very dramatic) water spouts, controlled by a new sea creature called “Mother.”

Here they meet the Zeitlin’s Peter Pan, at first sight more of a foreboding presence than an exciting one. He’s small and dark, with dreadlocks, wears brightly colored suits and doesn’t smile much. But there’s no question that he’s in charge of the island kids, and he doesn’t hesitate to give them the well-known admonition to “never grow up.”

Once you see the other poor inhabitants of the island, you’ll understand why. These folks have not just grown up, they’ve grown old, clinging onto their sad little lives in which presumably “nothing ever happened.”

The film is short on coherence and plot, but long on beautiful cinematography (credit Norwegian Sturk Brandth Grøvlen), oddball characters and mysterious caves to explore, not to mention the lower depths. It also boasts appropriate music by Dan Romer and fine visual and sound effects.

There’s no Disneyesque magic here. The magic is in not leading an ordinary kid’s life but instead encountering the unexpected every day, which offers its own kind of magic. Stacy Jansen’s costumes and Eliza Zeitlin’s production design contribute to the otherworldly look and attitude of the film.

But the best thing here is the fine cast, led by Devin France’s Wendy, whose irrepressible curiosity and upbeat outlook keep us as fascinated as she seems to be.

Yashua Mack’s Peter Pan rules the island roost with no fear and a kid’s tendency to rash action – such as the time Wendy’s brother Douglas goes missing and Peter suggests James cut off his own hand to get him back, or keep from aging, or something not quite clear. But aside from that, brothers Douglas and James are played with great youthful spirit by real-life twins Gage and Gavin Naquin.

There have been other versions of the story, and there will undoubtedly be more. The Zeitlins’ version takes its place as one of the most original and beautiful to look at.

"Wendy" opens March 13, 2020.