火星的孩子 Martian Child review by Katey Rich

With December’s Grace Is Gone reaping positive advance buzz, John Cusack seems on the verge of a breakthrough in his career, finally ready to be taken seriously after decades of playing updated versions of Lloyd Dobler, his iconic character in Say Anything. It’s a shame, then, that Martian Child is coming out now, an entirely ordinary film featuring an entirely ordinary performance from Cusack, who may as well be on autopilot. Luckily for Cusack, the film is so forgettable that no one will hold it against him once Grace Is Gone is released.

Cusack stars as David, a science-fiction writer coping with the death of his wife two years earlier. He decides to continue with the adoption process he and his wife began before her death, visiting a social worker (Sophie Okonedo) who tells him that Dennis (Bobby Coleman) is the kid for him: an eight-year-old who spends all his time in a cardboard box, speaks in a high-pitched whisper, and believes, fervently, that he is from Mars. Dealing with a disapproving adoption agency member (Richard Schiff) and a wary sister (Joan Cusack), David takes Bobby home and begins the slow process of showing an oft-abandoned young boy the true meaning of family.

The film was sent back for reshoots last August, after nearly a year of delays, which might explain why the story develops in a choppy, hit-all-the-signposts kind of way. There are the lessons on how to be a friend and a parent, the kooky bonding montage, the “I hate you I hate you I hate you!” scene, and finally, a tearful reconciliation in a dramatic location (this time it’s on top of an observatory). Characters constantly refer to behaviors that never happen onscreen—“Was I bad?” Dennis asks once he finally comes out of his shell; even though it’s the first time we’ve heard him say it, David admonishes him, “You need to stop saying that.” David’s friend Harlee (Amanda Peet)—and, obviously, eventual love interest—reminds him that he and Dennis are struggling, but aside from some frustrated sighs, we’ve seen no evidence of it.

The Martian aspect of the film is its only unique hook, but director Menno Meyjes and screenwriters Jonathan Tolins and Seth Bass don’t have the courage to stick with it all the way. Dennis eventually recants before the adoption board that he’s not really from Mars, but goes back on it; though David has occasional moments of questioning Dennis’ Earthly origins (he can taste color, for example), he mostly sticks with the adult party line that a vivid imagination is covering for a deep fear of abandonment. No one seems convinced of Dennis’ alien birth, but the film wants us to believe in the science fiction nonetheless, asking for empathy when Dennis confronts a science museum model of Mars, or heads to the observatory to meet up with his real family, E.T.-style.

Performances are all fine—Coleman is emotive if a bit too precocious—but the story simply isn’t there to support them. Opening against Bee Movie, Martian Child is guaranteed to struggle for its family audience, and likely won’t fare any better once the word is out that it’s muddled and mediocre.

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