Directed by: Benh Zeitlin
Running time: 1 hour 52 minutes
Release date: February 28, 2020 Streaming Online Video
Genre: Drama and Fantasy
Distributor: Searchlight Pictures
MPAA Rating: PG-13
The classic story of Peter Pan is wildly reimagined in this fascinating epic from Benh Zeitlin, director of Beasts of the Southern Wild. This is a story of children lost on a mysterious island where aging and time have come unglued, and Wendy must fight to save her family, her freedom, and the joyous spirit of youth from the deadly peril of growing up.
Starting with a backstory, the plot begins as Angela Darling (Shay Walker) works as a waitress as Darling's Diner near a railroad in the rural South, with her young children - twins James and Douglas (Gavin and Gage Naquin), and youngest daughter Wendy (baby Tommie Lynn Milazzo, child Devin France, and adult Stephanie Lynn Wilson) - hanging around there. Oldest sibing youngster Thomas (Krzysztof Meyn), having his birthday one day, is jokingly told by his grandmother that he and Angela's children that they'll be working at the diner when they grow up. Insisting that he'll be a pirate, Thomas goes outside at the thought of having to get older and work. A train passes by, and a small figure runs on the roof and gets Thomas to climb onto the train as Wendy watches as he runs away.
Years later, Wendy is nine years old and has a thirst for adventure, coming up with bedtime stories to read to herself, despite assisting he mother with the diner along with her brothers. One night, Angela tells them about her life, indicating that she gave up her dreams to raise a family, making Wendy wonder whether she will have to give up her own dreams as a grown-up. After school, Wendy contemplates boarding the train, but does not. However, another night she notices a boy at her window - it's Peter Pan (Yashua Mack), a rambunctious boy who influences Wendy and her brothers to jump on the train and go on an adventure.
The children travel to a lost island. This takes the audience to a dark netherworld (another dimension) with mythical creatures, where events are unlikely to occur in real life. It all transcends the bounds of human possibility and physical laws. As the film takes on the form of the Peter Pan fairy tale with elements of magic, myth, wonder, and the extraordinary, it offers obstacles of a quest. Yet, the mood and tone is very dark, lending a murky texture on screen. The theme is often ghostly, depicting spirits, apparitions, and miracles, all for the delight of audience escapism.
Wendy is a uniquely structure narrative that gives praise to a fine mostly child ensemble, and they will captivate the viewers.
FILM RATING (B-)
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