Martian Child

Plot

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.

Release Year: 2007

Rating: 6.8/10 (11,309 voted)

Critic's Score: 48/100

Director:
Menno Meyjes

Stars: John Cusack, Amanda Peet, Bobby Coleman

Storyline
What's the nature of being a parent and of being a child? David is a widower grieving for two years. He writes science fiction and was considered weird as a boy. He meets Dennis, a foster child who claims to be on a mission from Mars, stays in a large box all day, fears sunlight, and wears a belt of flashlight batteries so he won't float away. David takes the six-year-old home on a trial. His sister and his wife's best friend offer support, but the guys are basically alone to figure this out. Dennis takes things, is expelled, and is coached by David in being normal. Will the court approve the adoption, and will Dennis stay? Can a man become a father and a child become a son?

Writers: Seth Bass, Jonathan Tolins

Cast:

John Cusack
–

David

Bobby Coleman
–

Dennis

Amanda Peet
–

Harlee

Sophie Okonedo
–

Sophie

Joan Cusack
–

Liz

Oliver Platt
–

Jeff

Bud
–

Somewhere
/
Flomar

Richard Schiff
–

Lefkowitz

Taya Calicetto
–

Esther

David Kaye
–

Andy

Braxton Bonneville
–

Nicholas

Samuel Charles
–

Jonas

Zak Ludwig
–

Young David

Samuel Patrick Chu
–

Boy at Group Home

Ryan Morrissette
–

Boy at Group Home

Taglines:
The story of a man becoming a father…and a boy becoming a son.

Details

Official Website:
New Line Cinema [United States] |
Warner Bros. [Germany] |

Release Date: 2 November 2007

Filming Locations: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Box Office Details

Budget: $27,000,000

(estimated)

Opening Weekend: $3,376,669
(USA)
(4 November 2007)
(2020 Screens)

Gross: $7,486,906
(USA)
(9 December 2007)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min

Did You Know?

Trivia:

The film is based on the award-winning novelette The Martian Child, by science fiction author David Gerrold.

Goofs:

Incorrectly regarded as goofs:
When David receives the letter from child services, the envelope not only has six digits in the zip code instead of five, the state is listed as "CS", which does not exist. However, an early scene includes a tight shot of the front license plate of David's car, which says at the top "COASTAL STATE" where a real license plate would say "OREGON" or whatever. The production designers invented a state, a postal abbreviation (CS), and a ZIP code; bravo for this attention to detail and imagination!

Quotes:

David:
So what made you think that I would be a good match for a boy who spends most of his time in a box?

User Review

This film is adorable.

Rating:


I work in a cinema so I'm in the perfect job not to miss any film
releases including minor ones like this film. I call this film a
"minor" release because it was not advertised much, just a trailer here
and there but it's the type of film that make me happy to work at a
cinema otherwise i would have miss out on this little treasure of a
film. The story is simple , a lonely widower, also a sci-fi best
selling author , adopt a child who lives in a world of his own were he
convinced himself that he's a Martian who was sent to earth to study
the human race. The child's rather strange, he hates the sun and
doesn't smile often. At first the writer he's not sure if he's up to
the task to bring up a child with such big issues but little by little
he realized that he was the perfect match for the boy. In a world were
we have countless film about fart jokes and people getting tortured to
death , I found "Martian Child" to be a breath of fresh air. It's a
sweet film without being corny. The acting is great all around.John
Cusack his wonderful as always but its the young Bobby Coleman who
plays Dennis the young boy who's the real star of this film he is great
but also likable and god knows how this sort of character could have
turned out in the wrong child actor's hands. Joan Cusack bring much of
the comic moments in this film and it's nice to see her with her real
life brother , I love that woman , she always add something to any film
she's in. The most interesting aspect of this film is seeing the
character of Dennis progression throughout the film , from a troubled
boy to a happy kid , it was really well done. Somme people might found
this film "overly sentimental" but I believe it's because we live in a
cynical world and a film like Martian child stand out more in a time
when we are not used to see a film that doesn't show violence or gross
out humor. The main purpose of the film is to introduced us to two
character , make us love them and see them grow together and it does a
more then decent job at that. I would recommend this film to anyone who
has enough of a open mind to accept a film that just wants to grab hold
of our heart for 1 hour and 45 minutes. I think this film is a nice
little gem and I don't care about all the critics that found it just
too sentimental.For the full duration of the film I was interested by
the characters and at the end I was happy for them and thats all I ask
for a film , that the character are involving.