British filmmaker Paul Morrison hasn’t been working in the industry for long, but his first feature film,
Solomon and Gaenor, was well received and earned an Oscar nomination for best foreign film in 2000. Both this and his latest effort,
Wondrous Oblivion, deal with the culture clashes faced by Jewish people in post-World War II society. Whereas his debut was a tragic and heartfelt love story,
Wondrous Oblivion is a more lighthearted portrayal of a young child desperately seeking his place in the world.
Eleven-year-old David Wiseman wants nothing more than to be the next great cricket player. His passion, displayed relatively quickly in the film through his adoration for the figures pictured on his many trading cards, is undeniable. However, like many ambitious young athletes, he’s, well, not very good. This, a problem faced by many prepubescent boys, is probably the most relatable aspect of an otherwise distant film.
1960s London provides the backdrop for the tale of this young lad seeking the approval of his friends and parents. The neighborhood the Wiseman family inhabits is filled with hateful, prejudiced people who condemn any sort of interracial interaction. When an exuberant Jamaican family moves in next door, David is delighted to find them to be helpful cricket experts. His parents (particularly his father), however, are quite hesitant to allow their son to grow too close to these foreign people.
Clearly, there are two central dilemmas at the heart of the film. The first is David’s struggle to channel his natural talent and become a respectable cricket player. The second, far less nuanced and interesting, is whether or not the family should break the racial barriers of the neighborhood and try to welcome the Samuels family.
When, early on, the captain for David’s cricket team is announced, the boy is saddened by the selection of one of his classmates. His father’s reaction, in particular, is notable, asking “why aren’t you the captain?”. David knows the answer is quite simple - he’s not good enough. This moment feels so truthful to the sort of pressure parents ignorantly force upon their young athletes that I really wanted to appreciate what the entire film had to say. However, it isn’t long before it becomes a predictable, overly polished retelling of clichéd stories that have overstayed their due in the film industry.
The excitement of David’s growing success at cricket is overshadowed by the racial stereotypes that plague the interactions between the two families. It’s obvious that Morrison is trying to break down these societal, cultural barriers, but he paints both families with such broad strokes that it’s hard to find anything new to learn about these important issues.
The visual style is another matter that really drags down any potential for nuance. He keeps almost everything in the frame in focus, uses vibrant colors to accentuate the cultural celebration he aims for, and fills many shots with obvious metaphors of the racial clashes he depicts. Every frame is so polished, so on-the-nose that it is hard to believe there is any subtlety lurking beneath the surface.
While actors like Delroy Lindo as Dennis Samuels and Emily Woof as Ruth are solid in their roles, they aren’t given much to do by the derivative script. I do admire the way Morrison seems to be quite passionate about the particular issues he explores in his films, but I was disappointed to discover that
Wondrous Oblivion had nothing new to offer me about the plight of Jewish people in modern society and the way they clash with other cultures.