August (Auggie) Pullman had never been to regular school before, with all of the surgery he has a baby and young child. Starting middle school was always going to be a challenge but true friendship would be made.
The story is inspirational and heart warming from start to finish and you cannot help but fall in love with the family. Auggie has lived his life pretty much hidden from the world, with his astronaut helmet used to escape from everything having Halloween as his favourite holiday because he can hide his face with a mask. Before starting middle school he had been home schooled by his mother Isabel.
The thing with the story is though it doesn't just stop with Auggie's we get a little bit from his sister Via who has felt very pushed out since he was born with the operations. I thought that part was very interesting as she knows that she cannot really complain about anything, but has felt left out by her parents. Even though they have not meant to at all.
Making friends was always going to be extra tough for Auggie because unfortunately in this life people do judge by appearance and children don't hide reactions as well as adults. Those moments certainly do break your heart as we enter the school journey with Auggie. The thing is he is such an incredible boy and is just lovely, we have to then wait for them to get to know him better.
The key messages sent out in his film are about friendship and how you really need to get to know someone before you judge them. You truly have no idea what another person is going through, or what you can even put them through. I thought that was a great idea to then have a couple of the scenes from different characters point of view. Giving a fuller picture than if it was just focused on one person. I felt myself very close to tears so many times, luckily held myself together as I didn't think I would stop crying if I had started. It really does make you want to spread the message about choosing kind.
Performance wise every member of the cast is in top form led by Jacob Tremblay who is quite possibly the best child actor working today? I seriously think he was the perfect choice for this role and you really cannot help but just love his character of Auggie. Julia Roberts playing the mother, who better to take it on in this type of storyline? Owen Wilson working ever so brilliantly alongside her as well, adding a nice little bit of comedy to lighten the mood. A small bonus of Mandy Patinkin as well, who is brilliant as always as the head teacher of the school, if only they could have squeezed him a few more scenes.
I think this is one of those films that really needs to be seen by both children and adults. Reminding everyone that you need to get to know people and have an open mind about physical appearances, that does not make a person bad. I hope that it will help people think about these issues, the performances are fantastic and the format of the film is very easy to watch. It will break your heart but warm it as well, sometimes all at once. I really did enjoy this one and hope it continues to be very well received.
