Menno Meyjes, Martian Child

by Stephanie Allerdice
11/02/2007

It’s been awhile since a movie has made me cry in a theatre. I mean a real ugly cry. Martian Child did not break that record, but it was a tearjerker and I did get a little misty at moments.

In a world where fitting in is paramount to survival, Dennis, an abandoned boy, could not find anyone to whom he could belong. That is until he meets David Gordon, a widowed writer, who was maladjusted as a child as well.

As the movie starts we get a glimpse of David as a child. This sets the mood for the whole movie. David is small, pale, and being chased by bullies. This tiny snapshot informs us of the person he really is. Then we flash forward to the present and meet the grown up, a successful author who has made a living by writing about other worlds.

David’s wife wanted to adopt a child when she was alive but now that she is gone, David isn’t sure he can handle it by himself. However, when he meets Dennis, a boy who believes he is from Mars, he feels so drawn to the boy he just can’t walk away. Together they connect in a world that is alien to both of them.

John Cusack makes it easy for us to see that small boy in the man presented to us. You can still see the insecurities of childhood, especially while he is visiting his wife’s grave. Though at some moments, he is extremely awkward, in the scenes when it mattered he was at the top of his games.

Bobby Coleman is a 10-year-old sensation. This isn’t his first appearance on the big screen. He was also in the romantic comedy Must Love Dogs, another movie featuring John Cusack. Coleman was remarkable in his portrayal of the “Martian” boy learning to be a human. He makes you realized that all children are little aliens learning the ways or the world, even if most of them don’t truly believe they aren’t from Earth.

Coleman is most entertaining when he is working on his “mission to study humans.” With his umbrella and sunglasses to protect him from the sun, he wonders around taking pictures with his ancient Polaroid camera and collecting “human artifacts.” It’s just cute enough to give anyone a warm fuzzy feeling.

Although it is fun for Joan Cusack to play her real life brother’s sister on screen, she is typecast again as the quirky, overbearing family member. It’s a role she plays well, but we’ve seen it too often.

Over all the movie is worth seeing even though you have to make it through some slow parts, but on the bright side there is an adorable white-faced golden-retriever named Somewhere to keep you entertained when the movie gets slow.