WENDY might be many things. Some of which could be difficult to translate to a broader audience without an excess of exposition and motivation. It is easiest to see it as a temperate reworking of Peter Pen fable. Wendy is apprehensive of growing up in a world of adulthood, work and family. When her siblings are lured into an island where the concepts of time and age are radically different, she is tempted to join them. However once on the island, a darker reality is revealed, and this side is deadly.
Benh Zeitlin BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD gained popularity and a swathe of Oscar nominations on its release. For some it was an escapist dream. For me it was a clunky, bloated tale that rambled but was very well-meaning. That tale of youth and identity allowed for a break out childhood performance from Quvenzhané Wallis, it also allowed for an exploration of
the eye of a child. Zeitlin returns to the screen with WENDY and continues this theme of childhood forever, framed via the eyes of a child. The performances not only envelope this but are to a one, excellent. The film also looks beautiful and revels in its dream like space. These are the positives.
They cant overcome the negatives however.
The main one being the bloated nature of the whole thing. The story however, based as it is on a lite fairytale, is heavy and needs that weight to be taken off. Sadly again it seems that Zeitlin has been caught short by an admirable attempt at storytelling, undermined by his inability to reign in the excess. It feels a little as if he loves the worlds he builds so much, that he cant escape them. Nor can he allow his cast to leave them! This is not actual a harsh criticism of the director or his work, just he needs an editor who can stand up and say, you do not need to fill everything into the picture.
WENDY is released and can be bought from Amazon
