The sound of silence
An experimental, largely silent film about museums, Wonderstruck is hardly conventional family-friendly fare
It was only when todd Haynes started editing his seventh feature, Wonderstruck, that he realised he had made a mostly silent film. In the first act, a character loses their hearing after an accident, and then, “I realised: it’s the last dialogue you hear for almost an hour,” he chuckles. “all of a sudden, the spoken word feels like a strange foreign object.”
It’s the kind of bold experiment you wouldn’t normally expect to see in a familyfriendly film, and Haynes hopes smaller viewers are up to the challenge. “I kept hoping and wanting, maybe to my own stubbornness, to find its way into the experiences of younger audiences,” he says. “It was such a unique tribute to the abilities of young people, compounded by these themes of deafness.”
Based on the illustrated book by Brian selznick, it follows two deaf children (played by oakes Fegley and deaf newcomer Millicent simmonds), born five decades apart but each embarking on a formative adventure to new york. since they both live in a silent world, it was an opportunity for Haynes to use the silent era of cinema as both a plot point (Julianne Moore plays a lillian Gish-esque silent movie star) and as a stylistic choice. “we tend to denigrate silent film as simple and naive, and it’s anything but,” he says. “It was incredibly inspiring to see what was possible. It becomes more intuitive.”
a demanding experience for kids, perhaps, but helped, Haynes hopes, by a rich Carter Burwell score, a period soundtrack (Bowie and Eno are present), and engaging performances from his actors. “It’s relying on their gestures, and faces and bodies,” he explains. “It was almost getting to the core of what an actor does: that articulation of meaning beyond language. that’s really the mystery and the beauty of film.” arthouse sensibilities and lofty ambitions: this is not half-term family schlock. Wonderstruck is in cinemas from 6 april