Wondrous Oblivion (2003)

65% of critics liked it
(40 reviews)
66% of users liked it
(1,441 ratings)

Writer/director Paul Morrison, who directed the cross-cultural period drama Solomon and Gaenor, returns to similar ground, though in a lighter vein, with Wondrous Oblivion. Sam Smith stars as David Wiseman, a Jewish boy living in London in 1960 who dreams of being a world-class athlete. David is… More Writer/director Paul Morrison, who directed the cross-cultural period drama Solomon and Gaenor, returns to similar ground, though in a lighter vein, with Wondrous Oblivion. Sam Smith stars as David Wiseman, a Jewish boy living in London in 1960 who dreams of being a world-class athlete. David is totally obsessed with cricket, and loves playing, even though he is one of the worst players at his school. His parents, Ruth (Emily Woof of The Full Monty) and Victor (Stanley Townsend), are struggling with the bigoted residents of their working-class neighborhood, but the neighbors get a bit more friendly to the Wisemans when Dennis (Delroy Lindo), a Jamaican laborer, and his family move in next door. David is shocked and delighted when he realizes that Dennis and his daughter, Judy (Leonie Elliott), are installing a cricket pitch in their backyard. Before long, and against the wishes of his worried parents, David is spending a lot of time next door, becoming very friendly with Judy, and becoming a much better cricket player. Ruth gradually warms to Dennis, but the rest of the neighborhood grows increasingly hostile. Wondrous Oblivion was presented by the Jewish Museum and the Film Society of Lincoln Center as part of the 2005 New York Jewish Film Festival. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: PG, 1 hr. 46 min.
Directed By: Paul Morrison
Written By: Paul Morrison
Genres: Drama, Kids & Family, Art House & International, Comedy

In Theaters: Jul 21, 2006 Limited
On DVD: Mar 20, 2007
Studio: Palm Pictures

Critic Reviews

Bill Stamets, Chicago Sun-Times
Wondrous Oblivion is a timeless tale of an 11-year-old South London boy putting aside boyish things. Writer-director Paul Morrison affirms PG-rated life lessons that could appeal to 11-year-olds and their elders alike.
Sam Adams, Los Angeles Times
For all its bright-hued nostalgia (the cricket greens are practically incandescent), Wondrous Oblivion edges up to hard truths, most powerfully expressed in Lindo's towering performance.
G. Allen Johnson, San Francisco Chronicle
You don't have to know anything about the sport of cricket to be charmed by Wondrous Oblivion, a British film that is finally getting a well-deserved theatrical release after opening the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival in 2004.
Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger
It's a delight to see Delroy Lindo -- perpetually cast as tough cops and tougher crooks -- playing a tender father and decent (if struggling) husband.
John Anderson, Newsday
The film feels like the Cliffs Notes version of what might have been a much longer and certainly more satisfying story.
V.A. Musetto, New York Post
It loses direction, turning contrived and sentimental.
Jules Brenner, Cinema Signals
The challenges of friendship across color lines.
Kam Williams, NewsBlaze
A touching rite-of-passage tale which simultaneously sends valuable messages about friendship, fidelity, tolerance, and reaching for the stars.
Maria Garcia, Film Journal International
Evocative, beautifully photographed and skillfully directed.
Phil Villarreal, Arizona Daily Star
David's favorite exclamation is "wondrous!" %u2014 which happens to be a fitting description for the talents of writer/director Paul Morrison.
Kam Williams, Upstage Magazine
A touching rite-of-passage flick which simultaneously sends several valuable messages about friendship, fidelity, tolerance, and reaching for the stars.
Marc Mohan, Oregonian
...Thanks to solid performances and very nice cinematography, it hits, if not a home run, at least a solid double (or the British equivalent).
Shlomo Schwartzberg, Boxoffice Magazine
A family film with a difference, Wondrous Oblivion displays real bite as it incisively tackles such adult subjects as racism, anti-Semitism, adultery and the plight of immigrants in an intolerant land.
Ethan Alter, Premiere Magazine
Amid the mawkish mess rests a genuinely touching love story between two people who are considered outcasts by mainstream society. Too bad they're not the stars of the movie.
Ken Fox, TV Guide's Movie Guide
It's sweet-as-pie, nicely acted and boasts a marvelous vintage ska-reggae-calypso soundtrack featuring some of the best, bounciest songs of the era, including 'Sugar Dandy,' 'Rudi, A Message to You' and of course, Millie Small's 'My Boy Lollipop.'

Read all 15 critic reviews

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Walter M

[font=Century Gothic]"Wondrous Oblivion" takes place in South London in 1960 where David Wiseman(Sam Smith) is the child of Jewish refugees(Emily Woof & Stanley Townsend). He attends a private school where despite his love for the sport of cricket, he cannot play a lick.… More
[font=Century Gothic]"Wondrous Oblivion" takes place in South London in 1960 where David Wiseman(Sam Smith) is the child of Jewish refugees(Emily Woof & Stanley Townsend). He attends a private school where despite his love for the sport of cricket, he cannot play a lick. One day, the Wisemans get new neighbors from Jamaica. The father(Delroy Lindo) builds a cricket pitch in his backyard to coach his daughter, Judy(Leonie Elliott), in the sport. And soon he is also coaching David, too...[/font] [font=Century Gothic]"Wondrous Oblivion" is an amiable bit of anti-nostalgia that is well-meaning to the hilt. It deftly avoids the sugarcoating that usually occurs with coming-of-age movies, in order to explore the racism and prejudice of the day, while also promoting the broadening of one's horizons. The movie is about how a society improves and diversifies itself by embracing the children of immigrants by way of the dominant culture. In the movie, this is embodied in cricket(And there is a creative use for a cricket ball in the movie.) where playing and having fun are important, not winning. [/font]
Jeff B

The term "Coming of Age" has become somewhat of a cliché, but director Paul Morrison has given audiences such a well-crafted, beautifully-rendered tale, that an obligatory inclusion by this reviewer of the term will be quite forgiven here. Think: Air Raid Araby. It tends to… More
The term "Coming of Age" has become somewhat of a cliché, but director Paul Morrison has given audiences such a well-crafted, beautifully-rendered tale, that an obligatory inclusion by this reviewer of the term will be quite forgiven here. Think: Air Raid Araby. It tends to be heavy-handed at times, but the spot-on performances carry the weight splendidly. In this PG-13-rated drama Wondrous Oblivion, a young Jewish boy (Sam Smith III) learns to tackle adversity in post-war 1940s England after his Jamaican neighbors teach him the game of cricket. A cross between Barry Levinson's American fable Avalon and the British hit Billy Elliot, Wondrous Oblivion wears its well-worn adversity theme like a badge...but, because the scenario is wholly original, not to point of being over-bearing. Rather, this import plays out breezily, stumbling only slightly when the story veers off into an unnecessary sub-plot featuring the boy's mother (Woof) and mentor neighbor (Lindo). Should they remain oblivious to this rub, however, moviegoers will enjoy two hours of near-wonderment. Bottom line: Wondrously told.