Martian Child Movie
Storyline
TAGLINES
The story of a man becoming a father...and a boy becoming a son.
The story of a man becoming a father... and a boy becoming a son.
A science-fiction writer, recently widowed, considers whether to adopt a hyper-imaginative 6-year-old abandoned and socially rejected boy who says he's really from Mars.
| John Cusack | David |
| Bobby Coleman | Dennis |
| Amanda Peet | Harlee |
| Sophie Okonedo | Sophie |
| Joan Cusack | Liz |
| Oliver Platt | Jeff |
| Bud | Somewhere aka Flomar |
| Richard Schiff | Lefkowitz |
| Taya Calicetto | Esther |
| David Kaye | Andy |
| Braxton Bonneville | Nicholas |
| Samuel Charles | Jonas |
| Zak Ludwig | Young David |
| Ryan Morrissette | Boy at Group Home |
| Menno Meyjes |
7.10 out of 10 (837 votes)
Visitor Reviews
Good story, clean dialog
posted on 25 Aug 2009These days we often think we need the overdone violence, sex, foul language, and fast pace that most films offer or we just aren't stimulated by what's coming at us from our DVD player or movie screen. Martian Child is a great contradiction to the sterotype movie of today. It's a warm, sometimes a little sappy, story about a man who had planned to adopt a child with his wife but when she died he thought he couldn't do it on his own - then he changes his mind and adopts a troubled young boy who thinks he's from Mars. There is plenty of humor atop a story that begs us to all look more closely at our own society and reach out to the many kids who don't have a family to care for them. You'll find no sex in this film, no gratuitous violence, no foul language, no sexual innuendo, which to me, was very welcome. Kudos to John Cusack, Amanda Peet, Joan Cusack and the other actors for giving life to this sweet film.
Disappointing
posted on 18 Aug 2009I enjoyed the story about the man taking in the little boy who claimed to be from Mars. I liked the way it developed--maybe the child could actually be from Mars? The progression of the relationship between the man and boy was good. The acting was mostly fine.Just about everything else was poor. It seemed cheap and amateurish. Lighting was often too bright. Sets were unattractive. Pacing was a problem. There were several times when I wanted to have a nap (which is not normal for me!) because there wasn't anything interesting happening. I remained attentive in case something important might happen, but it didn't. I left the theater feeling it had been mostly a waste of my time and money.
SWEET MOVIE
posted on 05 Aug 2009THE MARTIAN CHILD
Love any movie with John Cusack. And where there is John Cusack, there is Joan Cusack, who is also a favorite of mine. The brother/sister team always work well together. The saying goes actors should never work with children and animals -- however, this movie really worked well with everyone involved being awesome.
Cusack plays a sci-fic writer who is dealing with the passing of his wife and having writer's block. He feels he needs something/someone in his life and applies to become an adoptive parent.
Enter Bobby Coleman, a cute, sweet, talented little actor. He is Dennis. Dennis is odd, a misfit, one of those kids that everyone picks on and makes fun of. However, all of this doesn't seem to bother Dennis and he truly believes he is from Mars. He has his own little language, is super intelligent, walks to the beat of a different drummer.
Cusack takes him into his heart and home and tries to help Dennis overcome all of his problems. Dennis steals, lies, and doesn't have any friends. Add all of these factors to him believing he is from Mars and you have a child who is crying out for attention, affection, stability, and love.
This is a great family movie. The Cusacks are always good in everything they do. Bobby Coleman who plays Dennis had this role down pat. He had great facial expressions, his voice was always in a different tone zone, and he was marvelous. Hope to see more of this young man in the future.
Great family movie, for people of all ages. This movie was fun, interesting, and heart-warming. Highly recommend!
Thank you!
Pam
Precious Movie
posted on 26 Jul 2009I loved this movie. I've watched it several times, and I just ordered it on DVD. This is a heartrending story about learning how to love after total rejection and loss. For David, it's an excerise in risking loss again, and for Dennis it's a case of finding real love for the first time in his young life and learning to trust that it won't fail him again. John Cusak is wonderful as David...gentle and sensitive, but the little boy who plays Dennis, Bobby Coleman, is stellar. He is precious, and I've never, ever, ever, ever, ever seen a sweeter little actor.
An Exceptional Movie
posted on 24 Jul 2009The boy (Bobby Coleman) was amazing! You will most certainly see more from him in the future. Beautiful, heartwarming tale of a widower in the midst of adopting a troubled young boy who believes he is from Mars. John Cusack is always great to watch and does not disappoint here. This movie is well worth the time invested. I would recommend it!
"Hysterical is the New Calm" ...
posted on 14 Jul 2009The most reviled review is the "three-star" review. Most people interpret it as a failure to commit. One either (allegedly) "loves" a film or "hates" it ... thumbs up or thumbs down. Well, however I try to spin this film, it still ends up "okay." A big three-stars.
I enjoy what John Cusack brought to the role (vulnerability, sensitivity, quiet contemplation etc...). But, his spot-on portrayal of a widower dealing with a psychologically damaged child could not save the film as a whole.
The "K-Pax" grumblings here hold true. I remember thinking that this film was treading an awfully thin line ... precariously teetering to the side of plagiarism. The sunglasses (!!!), the seemingly extraordinary abilities, the alien language (inclusive of the "click consonant"), the use of stellar maps, the disappearing acts, the picnic scene ... and that's just the beginning. Yes, the similarities are uncomfortable. But then, something else was nagging at me ... and, I realized what it was when the adoptive father realized (too late) he could not allow his eccentric child to wear whatever he wanted/be whomever he wanted. This was "Big Daddy" ... inclusive of gross food-scenes and abandonment issues. (Believe me, you will notice!) A weird amalgamation of films, but true enough.
Now, I realize this film is an adaptation of David Gerrold's "The Martian Child: A Novel About A Single Father Adopting A Son." And, here's the thing: Gerrold's work is great, but this film is a mediocre translation. (And, inventing a dead wife ... well, why? Why not just tell the true story as Gerrold told it? Very frustrating. And, adding Amanda Peet to the equation is even more bizarre ... considering the reality of the situation.)
So, while I genuinely did laugh and I genuinely did feel compassion for Cusack's character, it just was not enough for me to recommend this film. If you are struggling to fill your queue at Netflix, then toss this one in ... if not, catch it on TBS a year from now.
The movie didnt know which way to go.
posted on 12 Jul 2009Was it going to be: Science Fiction or Drama? ...In the begining The kid clearly was showing psychic abilities, and not made up fantasies from trama, which is comon in dysfunctual or abused children..There is a scene where David and Dennis are at a traffic light, David asks Dennis, if he has these special abilities,..asks him to make the traffic lights to turn green, and for several blocks they do...David then asks him to do it again and walla, the traffic lights go green again!... And what was it with this "mysterious" hand held device we are not allowed to see which Dennis seems to endue to have some unknown powers. This movies teases you with a science fiction slant, with Dennis clearly displaying special abilities, then it switches to plain Drama. I would have loved for him to remove his "weight belt"..and floated away in the end, but unexplictably, all these abilities are just thrown out and totally forgoten. The movie then takes on Plain Drama and they all lived happily ever after, child and single parent bond, THE END... To me this choice was a big dissapoinment and made the plot confussing and left alot of unansered questions about the "science Fiction slant" concernining Dennis. I really wanted to like this movie but just like the plot/story line, I couldnt make up my mind which way to go.
K-Pax for kids, but it's all good
posted on 29 Jun 2009I rented Martian Child a while ago and watched it, I really liked this movie. It was so charming and the big feel good movie of 2007, I've almost forgotten the real feeling of being so happy at the end of a film, most films of today don't touch it because it became cliché' for a while. But Martian Child brings together a brilliant cast with a very lovely story. John Cusack has been doing a lot of smaller films that don't bring much box office for the past few years, but his talent is as strong as ever and brings in a terrific and touching performance as an alien's foster parent on Earth. Bobby Coleman, I have never seen him in a film before, but his presence on screen was incredible. Most child actors can come off as either too cute or very obnoxious, Bobby was the perfect choice for Dennis. Bobby and John's chemistry made the story one of the most touching of 2007.Dennis is a little boy who claims to be from Mars, he lives in a box most of the time because he says the sun ray's hurt him and he also wears a belt of batteries to hold him to the ground. A lot of families have left him and he's just more excited to be going home in a while. David, a widower and a famous author, adopts Dennis and starts writing his next story about him trying to understand while Dennis does his best to convince him that he's from Mars. But while they bond and understand each other's worlds, they become not only friends, but more like father and son.Martian Child is in my opinion one of the better films to come out of 2007, it was just very honest and put itself out there. It reminded me of other films that I have seen before, but with what I think was a better story idea. A child claiming to be from another planet was a little more believable due to the fact, he's a kid, is he doing this to be different or is he really telling the truth? The story works on a lot of levels and the ending is a big tear jerker. I highly recommend Martian Child, it's a beautiful film and is a new favorite of mine.8/10
Too-weird loner kid + Quirky writer + sappiness = awwww... to the right crowd
posted on 27 Jun 2009I actually spent a great deal of this movie trying to hate it due to its fair amount of flaws. It's cutesy, predictive mush that likes to jerk hard on the heartstrings and any sensible moviegoer would roll his eyes and beat his head against the seat before him. But I guess I'm a sucker for the weird kid no one understands. If nothing else, this film had good intentions, and those intentions should count for something.The movie begins with David, a grieving widower (who is not gay despite the movie's origins, but hey) who decides, for some reason involving the wishes of his late wife, to adopt a kid. But not just any kid--the autistic, traumatized Dennis who hides in a box. Crying puppy sad enough for you? But never fear--David is a offbeat sci-fi writer with a quirky friend-who-is-a-girl and a sensible sister to make everything all better. We get to watch David and Dennis struggle to bond and face the real world, using all sorts of great inspirational lines. Yay for all those writers, and another roll of eyes for having the character of the editor weep fondly over the story-of-the-story.The filming and the score are only average, and frankly so was the storytelling. And yes, I did check my watch once or twice during the many slower parts.But I suppose it was a slow story, and I did appreciate the whimsical bits of comedy. Even if it were so-so writing, it was a cast of actors that can certainly hold their own, especially the little boy.And I was crying at the end. So sue me.
Touching film about the ties that bind
posted on 20 Jun 2009The Martian Child was an unexpected surprise for me.
I REALLY enjoyed this movie, save for the fact that it REALLY reminded me of K-Pax. Oddly both books these movies were based on came out at roughly the same time.
That similarity aside, this was a wonderful movie all around. Two lost people (weirdos really) finding each other and the love of 'family' in a very unconventional way.
John Cusack does a great job of presenting a believable bumbling dad wanna-be, and as we watch him jump through the hoops of adoption I often thought to myself that ALL parents should have to be vetted as much.
Soft spoke Bobby Coleman is achingly cute as 'the martian child' and for a young actor he took direction very well. His cool, almost unbreaking demeanor throughout the film exemplifies the detachment children form under such circumstances as being abandoned, emotionally abused and hesitant about opening their hope and hearts to new family.
If nothing else, I would recommend this movie to folks considering adoption because it does a brilliant and endearing job of showing the viewer of just how easy it is to love another 'being' whether there are blood-ties or not.
"Isn't Being Human Unique Enough?"
posted on 12 Jun 2009Those of you looking for a good science fiction film should look elsewhere. Not that THE MARTIAN CHILD isn't a good film, it's just not science fiction.
Based on the true life story of science fiction author David Gerrold's experience adopting a challenging child who believes he's from Mars, this story is a family drama that tugs at heart-strings and gives us a fine performance by child actor Bobby Coleman.
John Cusack (Grace Is Gone) pulls in an equally fine performance as David Gerrold, the sci-fi author who eventually adopts Dennis (Coleman). Finding him in a box at the adoption center, David (Cusack) coaxes him out of his walled-in life and into the real world. But it takes time and strength to do it, and David wonders if he has the fortitude and abilities to bring Dennis all the way. Dealing with parenting as a single parent, David discovers the additional difficulties of having a son so different than every other child. Dennis wears weight belts (to keep him from floating away), needs an umbrella to shield him from the sun (because Earth is much closer to it than his home planet, Mars), and his significant dietary requirements (Lucky Charms ...although not explained would make sense since they contain star shapes, etc.).
The story is told well if not predictably. The engaging portions are those surrounding Dennis' conversion from alien to human after the slow realization that David won't be letting go of him ("Why did my parents let me go?"). The significance of the weight belt (to keep him from floating away like his real parents) and the umbrella (to shield him from persecution by those the same age) are set up and knocked down with adequate dramatic flair.
But there are no science fiction elements whatsoever. Similar in tone to K-Pax, this story focuses on the people and their mental flaws. It tells us, in no uncertain terms, that being human is okay; that we don't have to be from somewhere else in order to be unique and wanted and understood.
No spaceships. No time travel. No green skinned creatures. Just humans trying to figure out how to live with one another in something resembling harmony.
Go home.
posted on 05 Jun 2009Cute as Dennis (Bobby Coleman) is, he's too cute, regardless of whether or not he's Martian. Now David (John Cusack) is cute as well as a successful, childlike science fiction writer widower, who decides to adopt this cute kid in Martian Child.Had enough cute already? So did I half way through this father/son comedy that's better than Will Smith's Happiness because it's not all about Cusack as it was about Smith. Yet I'm not happy because the constant struggle about the boy's origin gets older than an alien on social security.Dennis's introverted isolation, best signified by the portholed box he inhabits during the day to avoid the sun's harmful rays, like a mobile homeless person, is a creative variation of the clichéd outsider kid whose cuteness is his calling card for a potentially adopting parent. For this imaginative turn, I applaud the filmmakers. The unimaginative writer David, rehabbed by Dennis, is straight out of Nick Hornby's adapted About a Boy with High Grant as the morphing child-man, and uncounted cute boy/adult fantasies.As an inveterate X-Files, Twilight Zone fan, I kept hoping the story would hinge on the paranormal rather than the parental, but you can probably guess from my tone and comments where the story goes. If you like cute, Martian Child is for you; if you like E.T., go home.
Close Encounters with a Problem Child........
posted on 30 May 2009This is a first rate drama.Widowed science fiction writer wants to adopt a child who happens to believe he is from Mars. Dazzling performances from the lead adult and the child supported by an excellent cast, script etc.I have nothing but admiration for parents; I doubt if I would have the patience. At times during the movie can feel some people would want to throttle the little monster(not literally) and the widower was just too gushing in his protection of the kid.Whether or not he is in fact from Mars,well see the picture! 7/10.
Living in a fantasy world can cause a lot of problems
posted on 28 May 2009(My Synopsis) Science fiction writer, David Gordon (John Cusack) is feeling alone after losing his wife two years earlier. David is weighing the possibility of adopting a six-year old orphan boy named Dennis (Bobby Coleman). There is only one thing that may prevent the adoption from happening, and that is Dennis believes he is from the planet Mars. David's sister, Liz (Joan Cusack), tries to talk him out of adopting a child, because he doesn't know the first thing about parenting and this child is over the line and very strange. David has made up his mind and wants to be a father to this strange Martian child. David is having so much fun being a parent that he has stop writing and is about to miss his next book deadline. His agent Jeff (Oliver Platt) tries to bring David back to earth, but David is thinking about Mars more and more. David is letting Dennis be himself, and he is caught up in the fantasy of Dennis actually being from Mars. Whatever the truth, David has changed for the better, and now he has learned how to be a loving and caring parent.(My Comment) The movie is a human interest story about the interaction between a grieving husband and a troubled boy who only wants a connection to someone and not be tossed aside like a piece of trash. John Cusack gives an emotional performance as the grieving husband. You can actually feel his pain. His best friend Harlee (Amanda Peet) could have relieved his pain, but she was trying to be a good friend. John's real life sister Joan plays a good part as his sister, (go figure) and the mother of two boys who run her ragged. She tried to explain to him what real parenthood is all about. Bobby Coleman played his part very well as a strange "little Andy Warhol" and person from Mars. It is human nature to be with someone on this planet, and that is what this move is all about. David must make a choice to care for Dennis his whole life, and Dennis must trust David to do so. This is one of those feel good movies. (New Line Cinema, Run time 1:47, Rated PG) (5/10)
a nice walk on some well worn paths
posted on 26 May 2009Martian Child will very likely entertain but not astound most audiences. The big themes of fitting in and the search for connection, which are well explored territory, are kept in focus by a good script and acting despite the best Hollywood attempts to veer off into hokey predictability.The characters outside David and Dennis could use a bit more development and some of the scenes could have used a bit more mystery, but the current of the story moves things along. In the screening I saw, there were some embarrassing technical gaffes.The film builds the right amount of emotional tension to keep things interesting right up to the end, which was well done. A good date movie and one for parents and older children to enjoy.
No better, but no worse, than what you'd expect from a movie like this
posted on 11 May 2009There are some really nice scenes in here---the operative word being "nice." I liked the line of Joan Cusack's where she says that all kids are from Mars, and at least this boy admits to it. I also liked Dennis's deadpan expression when he said something along the lines of, "I just gave you a Martian wish. Don't waste it." But overall, it was just a predictable story that we've all seen a million times before. Man seeks to add depth to his life by reaching out to a troubled child, only to find out that he's got his work cut out for him. There are the people in authority who question his "unorthodox" methods of child-raising. He has a female friend who we get the sense is one kiss away from becoming his romantic partner (actually, she's barely in the movie and kind of fades into the background once she fulfills her primary duty in the film by acting suspiciously intimate with David/Cusack). And in the end, he and the boy learn some valuable life lessons. So yeah, the movie is a little too tame for my taste.
This isn't a bad movie. It's a "safe" movie. It's a little too safe.
Edit: But it's still an important story to be told. And there were times when it felt truly original.
Adoption movie tops
posted on 11 May 2009This is a very good movie concerning adoption.
John Cusack and his sister Joan are very good in this movie, as is Amanda Peet. It's good to see Joan Cusack do something more than commericials. The real star in this quirky movie is Bobby Coleman. This child actor will do well in subsequent movies - he's a scene stealer.
This movie is one to see if you are thinking about adopting "special needs" children - there are a lot of "special needs" children languishing in foster care waiting for a "forever family". This movie tells the story of the tragedies, pitfalls and triumphs of adoption and "special needs" children.
Sunny feel good movie with a great Cusack.
posted on 10 May 2009I'm feeling quirky today so let's start with a funny anecdote: What do you do when you're a writer with not enough inspiration, when the originality well has dried up? Well, most of the time you write a story about a...that's right...a writer. And what do you do when you're the producer of a script about a writer and the originality well has dried up? You cast good old Johnny Cusack of course :-D. It's remarkable how much he is cast as a journalist or a writer. And I understand the producer's reflex, I mean...Cusack does have the appearance of a writer. Don't ask me why, it's not just the hair, although the stylish hair is writer-like. It's ineffable. 'Martian Child' centers around the relationship between a widowed writer (David) of (bad!) science-fiction and a child (Dennis) who is a Prote-junior figure. Prote, in K-Pax, is a peculiar man who claims to be from outer space. He behaves very oddly and seems to have special 'non-human' powers. Dennis is almost identical: he can taste colors, has so called 'martian wishes',... The scenes in which we learn Dennis' 'powers' are comical enough, but the film only flies high in the comedy sky when it's being genuinely original and clever. The 'breakthrough' scene comes to mind immediately. That scene was so unexpectedly disarming, it almost made me cry. Another hilarious moment for me was the flashback to 1408 scene. Actually made me laugh out loud (literally), at which point the people around me looked at me like I was the one from Mars (;-)). The film isn't a flat-out comedy though, that's not what it's really about. The director deals with a lot of themes, mainly centering around 'growing up'. Judging people, dealing with loss, coping with being loved or loving someone more than you love yourself, having the courage to be yourself. A lot of bonding between the characters is shown, even the ones who don't seem to get along at first get closer. The film takes a surprisingly mature approach to the all in all hard themes(a quality which the recently seen indie film 'King Of California' also had). The director knows when (and how) to be serious, although the overall tone remains light of course. A nice line, that was right on the money, was: 'isn't that weird enough'. In the context it was really meaningful and well-used. Moral lessons like that is what is missing from K-Pax. Like so many movies, the parts of when MC is being sincere are the best. The line 'You're the easiest kid in the world to love', really was delivered like it was heartfelt and it probably was. I'm sure even John Cusack has been insecure in his life...There are lots of great lines of dialog, but they are sometimes too explanatory. "You seem to be so eager to become the child's friend , you forget to be a parent!". The story already tells us that so there's no need to really actually say it. Another line, which I made me cringe was 'Why can't you just be who we want you to be'. Quirky (and honest) lines like the following help make up for that flaw though: 'That's a good question, which is usually what adults say if they don't know the answer'. To me this is something John Cusack could say in real life. This strengthens my belief that the role was written in detail for the actor. He had some really excellent scenes but 'I can not tell a lie', he did fall back on his nervous fast talking mumbling charming good-hearted guy routine sometimes.What I really liked was the camera-work, Menno Meyjes seems to have a sense of how to create a magic feeling on screen. I love the car scene, where all the different colors are reflected in the car windows, constantly changing. Sometimes, the magic crossed over the line, into Cheesiness-land. There is a thick layer of that cheesiness (similar to the one in Finding Neverland) but it doesn't bother me that much. The movie isn't all Disney of course, there are really sweet moments all around too. Finding Neverland did have better child acting. In a way, the child actor in this reminded me of McCaulay Culkin's fame making role in Home Alone. Over the top, almost cartoon-ish. More irritating was the 'Disney-like' music. The story's less predictable than usually in the genre, of course we all knew he's gonna get the kid and A.Peet and him are gonna form the perfect couple (which did NOT happen to my astonishment). A. Peet did not come off quite as convincing as she usually does IMO. The chemistry with Cusack was once again great (see: Identity), but the character itself was quite bleak and one-dimensional. Another predictable thing was the 'martian wish' that John would use in the end, it indeed as expected was important in the climax. I have to be honest, there was some unexpected originality in the end. I really didn't see it coming, though the obvious returning motives were present (Martian wish,etc.)To make up for the twinklelight music were some very fun indie songs, I wouldn't have mind if they'd put in more. What makes this movie work is that almost everyone can identify/relate with one of the (reasonably) 'human' (lol) characters. The dad and the son with their similar acceptance theme, the sister who just want to be normal and has lost her zest for life and her wonderment a little bit. I found myself genuinely wide smiling throughout a big part of the movie. Testament enough to the feel-good factor of the movie...All the signals indicate sunshine and no clouds in J. Cusack's acting career. He seems to be back on a good roles run; his recent part in 1408 was very convincing too and he's good in Martian Child as well.Very highly recommended!
Certainly all children are Martians
posted on 27 Aug 2009As the mother of several adopted children and one homemade child, I can tell you that some kids are easy, some are hard, but all are Martians--in the sense that each person comes from his or her own unique world. The real trick in good parenting is to find a space in which you can set boundaries without imprisoning a child in your own particular world.
This is a great little film that reminds us to be open and tolerant toward everyone--no matter how odd--and it also reminds us that we all have various means of coping with a world that is often harsh and unforgiving. John Cusack does a nice job with the role and the screenplay is well written. This is a great family film.