Is The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet too quirky? Watch the official trailer -

For everything there is a season, and judging by the reviews, it could be that the season for 'quirky' dramedies is over. Especially boy-centric dramedies. I first noticed that the French director of the acclaimed Amelie, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, was taking Reif Larson's children's book 'The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet' and turning it into a film back in November of 2013. At the time I asked, 'don't you just love boy genius stories?'

Maybe not. The film is finally being released here in the states today and judging from the snarky overuse of the word "quirky" in the IndieWire review, Americans are through with quirk. Quirk, it seems, is as bad as twerk. Maybe worse. This closing paragraph puts the nail in the coffin.


Everyone has their own tolerance for quirk and magic realism, and certainly Jeunet has spent his whole career pushing that, but we’d argue that the bulk of his work has been genuinely captivating and charming while still managing to have an emotional undercurrent. But even the most whimsical of film fans will have their patience tested here. 'T.S. Spivet' is more twee than the Pinterest board for a Portland wedding. It’s more twee than Michel Gondry’s Tumblr. It’s more twee than Wes Anderson and Zoe Kazan dancing to a C86 mixtape. What we’re saying is, if “Amelie” got on your nerves, this might give you a full-on aneurysm

Hmmm. But it looks so good. In fact, the film won the Cesar (the French equivalent of the Oscar) for its cinematography by Thomas Hardmeier. 

The book the film is based on —The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet  —is chock a block full of images, maps, and T.S.'s noodling, interesting stuff that leaves you lingering over the details before you turn the page. Maybe that's what's speaking to me, the book looks like a book my son—now a young man—would have been captivated by. Maybe your son—or your daughter—would be just as transfixed. With that in mind, check out the trailer, and consider taking a look at the movie, but even more than that, if you've got a child with an adventurous mind in the house, get yourself to a bookstore and pick up a copy of the book. The movie may be too quirky for IndieWire, and maybe for you as well, but the book looks like a veritable treasure trove.

The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet stars Helena Bonham Carter as T.S.' mother, Callum Keith Rennie as his dad, Niamh Wilson as his sister and young Kyle Cattlet as The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet. 

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