Unlabelled Wonder (film)

Wonder (film)

Wonder (film)

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Wonder
Wonder (film).png
Theatrical release poster
Directed byStephen Chbosky
Produced by
Screenplay by
Based onWonder
by R.J. Palacio
Starring
Music byMarcelo Zarvos
CinematographyDon Burgess
Edited byMark Livolsi
Production
company
Distributed byLionsgate
Release date
  • November 17, 2017(United States)
Running time
113 minutes[2]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$20 million[3]
Box office$176.7 million[4]
Wonder is a 2017 American drama film directed by Stephen Chbosky and written by Jack Thorne, Steve Conrad, and Chbosky, based on the 2012 novel of the same name by R.J. Palacio. The film stars Julia Roberts, Owen Wilson, and Jacob Tremblay, and follows a child with Treacher Collins syndrome trying to fit in. Wonder was released in the United States on November 17, 2017, by Lionsgate and has grossed over $176 million worldwide on a $20 million budget.

Plot[edit]

August "Auggie" Pullman is a fifth-grade boy living in North River Heights in upper Manhattan. He has a rare medical facial deformity, which he refers to as "mandibulofacial dysostosis." Due to numerous (27) surgeries, Auggie had been homeschooled by his mother Isabel, but as Auggie is approaching middle school age, Isabel and Nate decide to enroll him in Beecher Prep, a private school, for the start of middle school. At first, Auggie is ostracized by nearly all the student body, but he is soon befriended by a boy named Jack Will.
During Halloween, Auggie wears an old GhostFace mask and costume because his dog, Daisy, threw up on his Boba Fett costume. Unrecognized, he walks around school knowing he would not get tormented while incognito. As he walks through the door to his homeroom he overhears Jack telling Julian Albans that he was "only pretending to be friends with Auggie." Feeling betrayed, Auggie wants to quit Beecher Prep and go back to homeschooling, but his older sister Olivia, nicknamed "Via," talks him out of it. Auggie later confides the incident to another friend, a girl named Summer, but swears her to secrecy. When Jack notices that Auggie has become quiet and distant he asks Summer why, but she only gives him the term "Ghost Face" as a clue; Jack is shocked when it suddenly dawns on him that it was Auggie wearing the GhostFace costume, and thus had overheard everything he said to Julian. When Julian calls Auggie a "freak," Jack angrily punches him in the face and a fight ensues between the two, which is soon broken up by Mr. Browne and Ms. Petosa. Jack is suspended for two days, and writes an apology letter to Mr. Tushman. Auggie, over winter break, requests Jack's Minecraft coordinates, which Jack sends. Jack apologizes to Auggie, and Auggie accepts.
During the rest of the school year, Auggie is repeatedly harassed by Julian and his group; they leave hurtful notes on his desk and tape to his locker their class picture with Auggie photoshopped out. When Mr. Tushman later confronts Julian and his parents using all the notes and the doctored picture as evidence, Julian's mother proclaims that she had had Auggie edited out of the photo to make it look more presentable to her friends at home; she then says that the school should not be inclusive and that Auggie does not belong there. But despite her threats to pull their funding from the school, Tushman suspends Julian for two days. Julian apologizes to Tushman for harassing Auggie as his mother drags him out the door.
Meanwhile, Via signs up for Drama Club at her high school after her best friend, Miranda, ignores her; in the process, she meets Justin, a friendly boy with whom she forms a close friendship, which later develops into a romantic relationship. Later, Via is selected to be an understudy for the lead role in the school's production of Our Town, with Justin as the lead actor.
Later on, Isabel and Nate find out that Via's play is coming around, and Via never told them about it, and they get into a fight with Auggie overhearing everything. Auggie later confronts his mom and his sister, who brush it off. Auggie then accuses them of lying and storms off to his room, and then Daisy starts to whimper. Via then rushes up to Auggie's room telling him that Daisy is sick. They say goodbye to Isabel who meets Nate at the hospital. They then return that night without the dog, implying that Daisy was put to sleep.
On the night of the play, Miranda, the lead actress and Via's former best friend, pretends to fall ill. Via takes her place and gives a performance that earns her a standing ovation. After the play, everyone, including Miranda and Justin, go home to the Pullmans and eat pizza to celebrate.
During a school trip to a nature reserve, when Auggie and Jack are accosted and threatened by a group of seventh graders from another school, several of their classmates come to their defense. At the year's end during the graduation ceremony, Tushman announces that Auggie has been selected for the Henry Ward Beecher Medal for standing out; Auggie receives a standing ovation, and the movie ends with everyone applauding Auggie, and Isabel commenting on him being a wonder.

Cast[edit]

Main cast members[edit]

Other cast members[edit]

  • Nicole Oliver as Mrs. Will
  • Rachel Hayward as Mrs. Navas
  • Crystal Lowe as Mrs. Albans
  • Steve Bacic as Mr. Albans
  • Erika McKitrick as Ella
  • Lucia Thain as Savanna Wittenberg
  • Sasha Neuhaus as Maya Markowitz
  • Izzy Lieberman as Reid Kingsley
  • Hannah Hoberman as Rebecca
  • William Dickinson as Eddie (7th grader who bullied August)
  • Maccie Margaret Chbosky as Young Olivia
  • Emma Tremblay as Michelle
  • Lydia Jewett as Lina Annan
  • Armen Bagdasrov as Danny
  • Kaelyn Breitkopf as Angela
  • Victoria V. Cruz as the Science Fair judge
  • Benjamin Ratner as Mr. Davenport

Production[edit]

On November 27, 2012, it was announced that Lionsgate was developing the feature film adaptation of R. J. Palacio's debut novel Wonder, while in talks with John August to write the screenplay.[5] Mandeville Films' David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman would be producing the film.[5] On May 8, 2013, Jack Thorne was hired to adapt the novel, while August, who was previously reported as writer, had departed from the project.[6] In October 2014, John Krokidas was reported to be directing the film,[7] but in April 2015, Paul King was hired to take the directing duties. Steven Conrad was writing the script at that time.[8]
On April 14, 2016, Jacob Tremblay was cast in the film to play the lead role as Auggie Pullman, while Julia Roberts was in talks to play Auggie's mother.[9] On May 5, 2016, Roberts was confirmed to play the mother, with Stephen Chbosky signed on to direct the film.[10] On June 27, 2016, Owen Wilson had joined the film to play Auggie's father.[11] On July 11, 2016, newcomer Noah Jupe joined the film to play Auggie's best friend at school.[12] On July 15, 2016, Daveed Diggs was cast in the film to play Mr. Browne, an English teacher at the school.[13] On August 19, 2016, Sonia Braga joined the cast of the film, portraying the role of Roberts' character's mother.[14]
Jacob's prosthetic makeup, designed and created by Arjen Tuiten, took an hour and half to apply. It consisted of a skull cap with prosthetic ears attached, a facial prosthetic that covered Jacob's face, and a wig to tie it all together.[citation needed]
Marcelo Zarvos composed the film's score.[15]

Music[edit]

Bea Miller composed a song entitled "Brand New Eyes." It was released on August 3, 2017.
Wonder author R.J. Palacio has often credited Natalie Merchant's song “Wonder” from her 1995 album Tigerlily as the inspiration for her best-selling book and at Merchant's invitation, the song will be featured in the soundtrack.[16]

Release[edit]

Wonder was scheduled to be released in the United States on April 7, 2017 by Lionsgate.[17][18] On February 13, 2017, it was announced that the release date for Wonder had been pushed back to November 17, 2017.[19]

Box office[edit]

As of December 28, 2017, Wonder has grossed $118.3 million in the United States and Canada, and $58.4 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $176.7 million, against a production budget of $20 million.[4]
In the United States and Canada, Wonder was released alongside Justice League and The Star and was initially projected to gross around $9 million from 3,096 theaters in its opening weekend.[20] However after grossing $740,000 from Thursday night previews and receiving a large number of group ticket sales, weekend projections were upped to $15 million.[21] Weekend projections were again increased, this time to $28 million, after the film made $9.4 million on its first day. The film went on to debut to $27.1 million, finishing second at the box office behind Justice League.[22] In its second weekend the film dropped just 17.7%, grossing $22.7 million and finishing third at the box office.[23]

Critical response[edit]

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 85% based on 154 reviews and an average rating of 7/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Wonder doesn't shy away from its bestselling source material's sentiment, but this well-acted and overall winsome drama earns its tugs at the heartstrings."[24]On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating to reviews, the film has a weighted average score of 66 out of 100, based on 33 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[25] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A+" on an A+ to F scale, one of fewer than 80 films in the history of the service to receive such a score.[22]
Some with craniofacial disorders have criticized the film for casting an able-bodied actor as Auggie and for its inspirational message.[26][27][28]

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