David Gordon (John Cusack) is a recently widowed best-selling science fiction author who, two years prior, was looking to adopt a child with his wife. One day at a neighbourhood garage sale he meets Dennis (Bobby Coleman), a bizarre young boy who initially hides under a giant Amazon box. David now rather reluctantly takes Dennis in and it's then discovered Dennis believes he's actually from Mars and is on Earth to undertake a mission. He hides under things like the box because he's afraid of the sun's UV rays, wears weights to counter our weak gravity, eats nothing but the cereal Lucky Charms and constantly hangs upside down for better air circulation. David soon choose to adopt Dennis, who also inevitably is having difficulty at school and frequently disrupts David's writing efforts, but nonetheless David's instincts about them having many similarities are vindicated and he recognises this. So when the authorities try to separate them, David steps up for Dennis both there and at school.
This adaptation of David Gerrold's semi-autobiographical 1994 novelette The Martian Child, from director Menno Meyjes (who previously directed Cusack in 2002's Max) and screenwriters Seth E. Bass and Jonathan Tolins is, I think, a very sweet, restrained and relatable family dramedy. There's nothing stylistically unorthodox, perhaps to its detriment given the narrative concept, here, but Meyjes nonetheless demonstrates a lucid and empathetic grip on the story arc and its relationships, which the cast bring convincingly to life. Cusack takes David (who in the novelette was openly gay; his being changed here to a straight widower with a new girlfriend (Amanda Peet) understandably offended some in the LGBTQ community) from a rather curmudgeonly, happily-set-in-his-ways guy to a loving adoptive father. Coleman, who's now 24 and a contemporary artist, displays just the right amount of eccentricity and rambunctiousness to make Dennis realistic but never too cute. Anjelica Huston absolutely makes the most of her tiny role as David's English publisher, although Peet, Sophie Okonedo and Richard Schiff are somewhat wasted in other minor parts.
This adaptation of David Gerrold's semi-autobiographical 1994 novelette The Martian Child, from director Menno Meyjes (who previously directed Cusack in 2002's Max) and screenwriters Seth E. Bass and Jonathan Tolins is, I think, a very sweet, restrained and relatable family dramedy. There's nothing stylistically unorthodox, perhaps to its detriment given the narrative concept, here, but Meyjes nonetheless demonstrates a lucid and empathetic grip on the story arc and its relationships, which the cast bring convincingly to life. Cusack takes David (who in the novelette was openly gay; his being changed here to a straight widower with a new girlfriend (Amanda Peet) understandably offended some in the LGBTQ community) from a rather curmudgeonly, happily-set-in-his-ways guy to a loving adoptive father. Coleman, who's now 24 and a contemporary artist, displays just the right amount of eccentricity and rambunctiousness to make Dennis realistic but never too cute. Anjelica Huston absolutely makes the most of her tiny role as David's English publisher, although Peet, Sophie Okonedo and Richard Schiff are somewhat wasted in other minor parts.
Despite its supporting cast shortcomings and lack of visual flair, Martian Child is an underrated and certainly oddball peek into a less-observed and less-common but nonetheless absolutely real kind of contemporary family. 8/10.
No comments:
Post a Comment