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Violet (Kiera Milward), a girl in her early teens with slight witch
powers, feels slightly neglected by her family, as presenty her parents
(Megan Dodds, Lloyd Owen) concentrate on her sister Savannah's (Nell Tiger
Free) fledgling model career, while dad also develops the hots for Yana
(Rita Ora), the designer she's to model for. In that scenario, Violet
feels left out, with her only friend being Yana's stepson Daniele
(Sebastian Croft), whom Yana keeps on a short leash though. Eventually,
Violet decides to run away and soon ends up in a nearby forest where a
witch is supposed to reside - and this witch proves to be well-meaning
Hazel (Carrie Fisher). But even she can't keep Violet from falling into a
nearby well and coming out in a parallel world on the other side where
everyone seems to be totally self-centered - at least to Violet. Here
Savannah tries to seduce Daniele, just to spite Violet, Yana wants to make
Savannah her slave, dad openly flirts with Yana, mum starts a thing with
Yana's photographer Franco (Vincent Spano), and Violet feels a bit lost
between all of this - and she doesn't even know how lost she is, as it
turns out Yana's actually also a witch and in an eternal power struggle
with Hazel, and Violet has somehow gotten in the thick of it due to her
own powers ... The last film Carrie Fisher has ever starred in
before her untimely death, and while not the biggest film she has ever
made, a very worthy swan song of the hidden gem variety, a mix of coming
of age story, dark fairy tale and thriller that doesn't shy away from the
bizarre, the surreal and the grotesque, Wonderwell is a visually
stunning film full of impressive set designs, but that still tells an
engaging enough story to justify the visuals, while the film's well
fleshed-out characters are embodied by a relatable ensemble cast, making
this a pretty cool and pretty unusual ride.
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