Adapted from Myla Goldberg's richly complex debut novel, this is a far-better film than one would dare hope for from a major studio, which is not to say it's a great one. But directors Scott McGehee and David Siegel's (SUTURE, DEEP END) unwillingness to dumb down the story of one troubled family's search for the divine is truly inspiring. Ten-year-old fifth-grader Eliza Naumann (Flora Cross) isn't particularly unusual, except in one respect: Unbeknownst to the rest of her family, she can spell with astonishing skill. Eliza's vocabulary isn't especially extensive, but when she closes her eyes and meditates on the word at hand, letters begin to appear before her eyes. ...
Released:
2005
Rated:
PG-13
Length:
105 mins