In 1977, young Ben loses his mother in a car accident. He loses his hearing in a lightning strike. He runs away from his Minnesota home to search for his father in NYC. In 1927, young Rose is deaf living with his father. She runs away from home to reunite with her absent mother and Broadway star Lillian Mayhew (Julianne Moore). The two stories would intersect in a museum.
I find the stylistic concept intriguing. The 1927 story is done in a black and white silent movie style. All that's missing are the onscreen intertitles. There are some visual touches that reverts back to that era. The 1977 story does use period music and has a style recalling the era. It's a missed opportunity to go full silent movie when Ben goes deaf. The movie keeps alternating between silence and full audio. It should have gone full speed ahead with the stylistic concepts. The other possible improvement is some sort of time travel connection between the two stories. It would have been great to have these two kids connect from time to time. Instead, the movie piles everything into an emotional exposition reveal in the last fifteen minutes. It's lacking the narrative connection to drive the flow. This is a movie with daring concepts but it's not a fully cohesive endeavor.
I find the stylistic concept intriguing. The 1927 story is done in a black and white silent movie style. All that's missing are the onscreen intertitles. There are some visual touches that reverts back to that era. The 1977 story does use period music and has a style recalling the era. It's a missed opportunity to go full silent movie when Ben goes deaf. The movie keeps alternating between silence and full audio. It should have gone full speed ahead with the stylistic concepts. The other possible improvement is some sort of time travel connection between the two stories. It would have been great to have these two kids connect from time to time. Instead, the movie piles everything into an emotional exposition reveal in the last fifteen minutes. It's lacking the narrative connection to drive the flow. This is a movie with daring concepts but it's not a fully cohesive endeavor.