MEDIA > REVIEWS > PHOEBE IN WONDERLAND

In all fairness, however, the film belongs to Fanning, who provides the perfect bookend for Clarkson on a shelf of wondrous fables. Fanning finds her footing from the first scene and captures Phoebe perfectly, a dazzling feat considering the complexities of portraying a person with a mild mental illness, a challenge even for a skilled adult actor. ... Fanning convinces even the child-averse (ahem) that the potential of a child to astonish and delight is worth such forbearance."
[Pajiba.com]

"The mesmerizing performance of Fanning as the gifted and troubled young Phoebe sparks the picture. Charismatic and graceful, Fanning is wondrous."
[The Hollywood Reporter]

"It is easy to fall in love with the character of Phoebe, as little Elle Fanning gives one hell of a performance. She is funny, she sings and she delivers a riveting, teary-eyed scene toward the end of the film that will leave few dry eyes in the house. Forget about Dakota, little Elle is going to be quite an actress."
[FilmSchoolRejects.com]

"Strong performances from Clarkson and Huffman bolster the film, but both roles require playing off Phoebe in all her myriad emotions, and thus the film weighs heavily on the petite shoulders of young Miss Fanning, who proves herself more than equal to the task. Fanning was quite good in Babel, but she's pretty brilliant here, perfectly capturing Phoebe in all her extremes; it's a performance quite beyond Fanning's young years, but she nails it to the wall. There's a certain luminous quality about her, and she lights up the screen in every scene. Barnz is blessed with a talented cast for his feature debut, and they make him look good."
[Cinematical.com]

"In a tour-de-force performance by Fanning (do the Fanning siblings do any less?) we see her deteriorate before our eyes but Barnz creates a Heavenly Creatures-like world in which she travels into as Phoebe finds solace in the Alice in Wonderland characters."
[Film Maker Magazine]

"'Phoebe' features two career high performances from two very different actresses. Elle Fanning (she's Dakota's little sister) has a true breakthrough role as the title character, a 9-year-old girl with a vivid imagination and obsessive compulsive tendencies."
[New York Metromix]

"'Phoebe in Wonderland', a magical Sundance film held together by the star-making turn of Elle Fanning, Dakota’s little sister."
[DCP.com]

"Elle Fanning, the nine-year-old sister of 13-year-old Dakota, stars in Phoebe in Wonderland, about a girl whose retreat into a fantasy world is driving her parents and teachers to distraction. The film also stars Felicity Huffman, Bill Pullman and Patricia Clarkson, and offers more proof that acting is in the genes, or else there's something in the Dakota family's drinking water."
[National Post]

"Phoebe in Wonderland, starring Dakota's equally precocious younger sister Elle... The main reason to see Phoebe in Wonderland is for yet another astonishing Fanning performance. How these little girls are able to summon such powerful reserves of fear and anguish and terror, I have no idea."
[Screen Grab]

"I think Phoebe is a fantastic and remarkable movie. The director's FIRST film, and it is wonderful. That's all I'll say, but there are stellar performances by Bill Pullman, Felicity Huffman, Patricia Clarkson and most importantly, 9-year-old Elle Fanning (Dakota's sister, and she should win an Oscar for this)."
[Droid Maker]

"And Elle Fanning definitely IS as freakily good as Dakota (What was in their baby formula?)."
[MTV Movies Blog]

"Playing her daughter is the next in line for the title of most precocious actor, Elle Fanning (Dakota's sister), who is remarkable in the film."
[Advocate.com]

"Elle Fanning is off the charts good."
[Wildsound Filmmaking]

"That "other" Fanning, Elle, turned in an incredible performance as a Tourette’s sufferer who finds solace in a grade-school production of "Alice in Wonderland." In fact, she’s so good in Phoebe that it’s impossible to hold her lineage against her - it’s not an easy part even for an adult, but she absolutely nails it."
[Pajiba.com]

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