Gave an iTunes rental to the new movie Wendy, a modern re-imagining of the Peter Pan story. This was going to be a theatrical release but that just didn’t happen and showed up on streaming for regular (non-$20) rental pricing. This film was made by the art house director behind Beasts of the Southern Wild which was a flick the critics loved but I was sadly lukewarm on.
Wendy is a young girl who lives with her twin brothers in a home above the Darling Diner, an eater right next to the train lines. The film takes the Peter Pan story and adapts it to a grungier, more realistic setting while retaining magical realism. So in this case, for instance, the kids follow Peter by hopping the train that runs next to their home and they travel to Neverland, a lush volcanic island somewhere in the ocean (probably the Gulf of Mexico since the real world sequences appear to take place in Louisiana or one of the Gulf states).
Half the interesting thing with a re-imagining is seeing how they adapt the existing material to their new modern poverty-ridden American setting. And the movie makes some interesting choices and retains the ideas of Peter Pan without exactly following any known plot. There’s definitely a feeling that a lot of this is a hazy memory or dream… there’s a magical realism that ensures that, despite some gritty reboot feel, this is still a magical movie on some level.
Now, unfortunately the movie is just shy of two hours and there’s just not enough story or dreamy moments to support that length. I was very engaged for the first thirty minutes but then it bogs down and only come alive again in the final act. But that said, there’s still some beautiful and beautifully gritty sequences. The movie, if nothing else, looks fantastic.
So, yeah, a mixed bag. I think if you are so-included to see an artsy, kind of dreamy, gritty beautiful movie, you might want to give this one a chance. I’m also thinking don’t watch it in one go… that run time is a real problem.
Score: 76