Nearly a decade ago, writer and director Benh Zeitlin broke onto the scene with Beasts of the Southern Wild in 2012. It was a phenomenal feature film debut, earning four Oscar nominations which included a nomination for Quvenzhané Wallis, the youngest actress to ever be nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role. Surprisingly, after such a strong introduction, Zeitlin kind of fell off the map. That is until this year’s Wendy, a new and unique take on a classic fairy tale that I couldn’t help but be intrigued by with just the trailer alone. With an almost nostalgic retrospection on Zeitlin’s last film, I couldn’t help but be excited to see his sophomore effort, especially when it came to how he’d handle the subject matter.
The film’s premise follows Wendy Darling (Devin France), a young girl with dreams of staying young forever, eager to find the mysterious boy on the train she saw as a baby. On one random night, as the train passes her bedroom, she sees the shadow of the boy she saw all those years ago. With her older twin brothers James and Douglas (Gavin Naquin and Gage Naquin), the trio jump onto the train and finally meet the mysterious boy named Peter (Yashua Mack). Following him, they end up on an island, living with Peter and his group of “Lost Boys” as they embrace the freedom and Peter’s belief that they will never grow old so long as they will it to be true. For awhile, it’s all Wendy and her brothers have ever wanted. Then, suddenly, a traumatic event causes Wendy (and, to an extension, Peter and his crew) to start to reflect on their crazy lifestyle, stirring a coming-of-age experience that shows Wendy the importance of growing up, telling stories, and embracing the youth you have.
If I was rating the film solely on its twists and unique takes on the Peter Pan tale, I would love the film. There are a lot of great ideas that gives this film a freeing, fresh feel with a dark enough edge that acknowledges the tale’s roots. It’s certainly a take on the tale that feels more adult-oriented, almost as if Wendy’s perspective is akin to an adult looking back on crazy moments they couldn’t believe took place in front of their very own eyes. If that isn’t Zeitlin’s intent, then those moments tonally clash with the overall vibe, especially when it comes to the film’s adventurous first half. It honestly feels very similar to Spike Jonze’s take on Where the Wild Things Are only if it was just a tad off from its execution, still succeeding but not flawlessly.
Thankfully though, the visuals and score are well done enough that any minor tonal shift can be momentarily blocked out by a fun theme or a beautiful shot. Dan Romer and Benh Zeitlin’s score has this rebellious, almost swashbuckling beat that, at moments, perfectly captures the spirit of the film and even overpowers some of the weaker scenes, especially the track “The Tale of Wendy” which is sprinkled throughout the film. In addition, the film’s cinematography is very appealing throughout, reminding me of Beasts of the Southern Wild from its very first shot. The camerawork is delightfully chaotic, capturing the freedom of the island while also expressing its tragic past and vast loneliness that inevitably creeps up on Wendy when she least expects it. It also doesn’t hurt that the visual effects are impressively well implemented, creating a creature that is well designed and surprisingly well animated.
With what I’ve said so far, there is enough in Wendy to appreciate, especially in small, isolated bits. However, where the film starts to fall apart is when inspected as a nearly two-hour film, feeling like a half an hour longer due to pacing issues that the film can never seem to shake. To me, it reminded me of a wind-up toy: when fully wound up and let go, the film runs with the type of energy and charisma that the viewer can’t help but be swept up into its crazy tale. Unfortunately, when it’s in the processing of rewinding, the film slows down to an obnoxiously slow pace. Sure, that energy can come back into the film from time to time but, in retrospect, the film doesn’t warrant those energy spurts if most of the in-between moments are just long pauses of people looking out into the distance, walking silently, and...cutting right before any of the built-up drama can lead to anything of substance.
On top of the pacing problems, the story itself feels quite sparse. The movie establishes ideas, characters, and story elements that are ripe with potential. However, even with all the sweeping music moments and beautiful cinematography, the film is lacking in emotional resonance. The story’s setup is fun, intriguing, and just whimsical enough to grab anyone’s attention. However, once the story begins to get more serious, the story takes too much time building the central conflict, even taking a detour here and there that feels almost disconnected entirely with the goal at hand. To be fair though, there are moments in the film that work extremely well with an ending that caps off the film in a satisfying enough place.
Another element that supports the film’s light emotional resonance is its performances. To be clear, I enjoyed the unknown actors in the main roles and also understand the thought process behind casting unknowns (Benh Zeitlin did the same with Quvenzhané Wallis in Beasts of the Southern Wild). Though I do enjoy the performances from Devin France and Gavin Naquin (and, while not the strongest talent, Yashua Mack brings some great energy to Peter), none of them come close to the same caliber as Quvenzhané Wallis’ performance as Hushpuppy, resulting in Wendy having solid performances that just don’t pull me in like Zeitlin’s previous film. This isn’t saying I dislike the characters or the actors portraying them. It just needs to be said because, in just twenty four hours, I’m already starting to forget both the performances and the emotional beats of the story.
Overall, I have no pleasure in saying Wendy is a pretty, fairly interesting film that isn’t good enough to ignore the major flaws in its slow pacing and fairly emotionless story. There should be enough here for fans of the classic fairytale character to warrant a watch but, for everyone else, I’d recommend watching Zeitlin’s previous film before giving “Wendy” a shot. It’s a unique take on an old property that, while not being offensively bad, isn’t good enough to be a memorable experience at the theater. I commend Zeitlin’s attempt but, at the current moment, I feel like this film works perfectly on a Sunday afternoon while folding laundry or looking for anything to watch to pass the time. While I’m still on-board with Zeitlin’s future endeavors, it’s safe for me to say that “Wendy” is a twist on a classic fairytale that is worth seeing a few months down the line.