This morning, the New York Film Festival announced that Wonderstruck, the new feature from director Todd Haynes (Velvet Goldmine, I’m Not There), will be the centerpiece film in the 55th installment of the festival, and with that announcement came a delightful little clip that offers a beautiful taste of what’s to come.
And boy, is it gorgeous:
We’re always excited to see new work from Haynes — he’s one of the most underemphasized masters of American cinema — especially after his last film, 2015’s utterly brilliant and devastating Carol. And this looks to continue to wonderfully muted colors of that film (at least in the present segment) while adding some of the gorgeous grayscale that made the Cate Blanchett segments in I’m Not There such a joy to watch. Wonderstruck received raves at Cannes in May, and this only looks to make the anticipation for its release grow stronger. Also, it’s always nice to see this approach to advertising movies, where you’re just given a hint of a setting and the action within the story, too, and kudos to NYFF for picking a pretty lovely little scene to show.
Here’s a synopsis from the NYFF announcement:
“In 1977, following the death of his single mother, Ben (Oakes Fegley) loses his hearing in a freak accident and makes his way from Minnesota to New York, hoping to learn about the father he has never met. A half-century earlier, another deaf 12-year-old, Rose (Millicent Simmonds), flees her restrictive Hoboken home, captivated by the bustle and romance of the nearby big city. Each of these parallel adventures, unfolding largely without dialogue, is an exuberant love letter to a bygone era of New York. The mystery of how they ultimately converge, which involves Julianne Moore in a lovely dual role, provides the film’s emotional core. Adapted from a young-adult novel by The Invention of Hugo Cabret author Brian Selznick, Wonderstruck is an all-ages enchantment, entirely true to director Todd Haynes’s sensibility: an intelligent, deeply personal, and lovingly intricate tribute to the power of obsession.”
Wonderstruck screens at the New York Film Festival on Saturday, October 7, before its theatrical release on October 20.