Plot: A boy with facial differences must face mainstream school for the first time.

The first I heard of this film at the start of the year, it sounded like an Oscar bait film that would feel rather schmaltzy and over-sentimental.
But after getting highly positive reviews a few weeks ago from America including a few mentions of Oscar contendership, the level of marketing has jumped considerably and is getting a much bigger release then I had anticipated.

I was enjoying the opening as the tone seemed to be one I was hoping it would be. Then I started to see why it was getting the high-quality praise. It really enhanced every aspect and drove its message to be worthy of tearful and uplifting.

What I liked about it the most, was that it wasn't all about the central character. The way they structured it, meant that they heavily developed all the main supporting characters and it moved me in the right way that it intended to.
It managed to be more complex then you would think when approaching this. I also expected the makers of this to aim for a tear-jerker. But in the end, it's more uplifting then anything else. Yes it has its sad and depressing moments, but you feel like punching the air and skipping out of the screening room.

As mentioned before, the character development was aplenty and the performances capitalised on that opportunity. Jacob Tremblay was in leading role. His performance in Room was nothing short of phenomenal and I will never forget it. In this latest role, it was another top bit of acting. His screen presence is something quite incredible. You instantly get the sense of his characters struggles. There were plenty of times where he was basically playing himself due to the character having similar interests to himself.
Izabela Vidovic really shone and was the stand-out performance from the supporting roles. Her story ended up being as strong and engaging as the central focal point of this film and that was helped by memorable contribution.
As for the two big names in this film, Julia Roberts rolled back the years and was almost channeling Erin Brockovich and reminded us how strong of a talent she is. As for Owen Wilson, he fitted into the tone rather well and has a charming presence throughout.
There were a lot of child actors in this one. Outside of Tremblay, Noah Jupe was the most notable. He did a good job and certainly had his shining moments.

The big danger to avoid in this type of story is not over-do the emotions. There were obvious moments of sugar-coating, especially towards the end. But thankfully it was not enough to degrade my overall enjoyment for this.

While most films of this ilk are rarely exceptional, this was one of those films where it really did work. The story structure has a great amount of depth that certainly makes it a more memorable viewing experience and gives you many memorable characters.
There's many good comedic moments and the references it uses was pretty cool to see take place. But there are also several expected emotional scenes that will certainly cause a few tearful moments.

I must finally mention that with this film having a PG rating, this is great time to show this to kids as it will send an important message.

Rating: 8/10