Magnetosphere

Magnetosphere is a really delightful film. The characters are endearing, and the story beautifully captures the experiences of an adolescent girl with synesthesia. The use of colors and the unique way her perspective is portrayed are captivating. The film masterfully blends humor and poignancy, offering a heartwarming and uplifting message about embracing and celebrating differences. It normalizes what makes us unique and presents these traits as gifts. The story resonates with the universal challenges of adolescence while maintaining a light tone. The comedic timing was spot-on, with a mix of slapstick and wit that appeals to all ages. My little nephew loved it, and I think audiences of any age will too. The script was well-crafted, the performances were stellar, and the music added depth to the overall experience. Steven He was a pleasant surprise, delivering a performance with far more depth than I expected based on his online presence. It was also fantastic to see Colin Mochrie and other familiar faces from the comedy and improv world. Magnetosphere also handles sensitive themes with great care, making them relatable without being heavy-handed. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a funny and moving movie for all ages.

You have to be ready, in watching this one, to suspend disbelief and accept the world of the movie for what it is. On the one hand, you have a story about a young girl growing up, experiencing her first love, realizing her neurodiversity and coming to terms with loving herself. On the other hand, you have the zanier stories of the weird, often nutty and larger-than-life adults around her. It's a story where these worlds coexist as one. If anything, you get the feeling that one could not exist without the other.

Newcomers Shayelin Martin and Mikayla Kong are stars. Zooey Schneider as the little sister has some of the best lines in the movie. Tania Webb as the mom is an understated revelation, and Patrick McKenna as the goofy dad could not be more expressive. Colin Mochrie is a riot as sort-of-exterminator Gil, Tara Strong embodies the voice of not-quite-evil doll Captain Cassiopeia, and Debra McGrath as a kindhearted art teacher takes what could have been a one note role and fills it with depth and humor. Steven He radiates kindness as the boy too old for Maggie to fall in love with, and Jordyn Gillis is every middle school mean girl you've ever met.

Watch, accept the silliness and the seriousness as part of the same soup, and enjoy.

"Magnetosphere" takes you on a trip that is both magical and very, very real, and therein lies its tremendous draw, appeal, magnetism. I am an impatient viewer normally, but I couldn't take my eyes off the screen! Rose has deftly blended an authentic and moving adolescent narrative with an exploration into the world of synesthesia. The result reveals beneath the anguish of a seemingly ordinary coming-of-age journey, an experience that is unique but also highly relatable. The technical combination of realism and fantasy is handled with skill and care--never too much of either and just the right amount of each, we can both believe and suspend normal belief. And this magic is also thanks to the superb character interpretations by a cast that shines through individual roles and ensemble dynamics. Oh Canada! It is such a pleasure to experience the development of Nicola Rose as a filmmaker and we can't wait to see what comes next!

Maggie is an awkward, melancholy thirteen-year-old girl whose family has just moved to a new town in Ontario in the middle of 1997. There she will face those universal moments of young life: middle school bullies, teenage insecurity and self-loathing, her first true friendship, and falling in love for the first time.

But her perceptions are far different than most people's. She lives in her own world of color, experiencing sounds and moods and people's energies as bright rainbows, gentle glowing, and gloomy clouds in her mirror. She's never heard of synesthesia and doesn't want anyone to know what she's seeing and feeling; there's enough scorn and absurdity around her without the humiliation of just how "weird" she is.

Nicola Rose has made a wonderfully gentle new kind of tale about growing up, with all its anguish and discovery literally colored by a remarkable perspective that's rarely talked about. It may not look like a big-budget Hollywood confection, but the production design, camera work, and vfx keep it vibrant. The story takes its time, getting by on real warmth and a great sense of humor from its eccentric characters (especially Colin Mochrie's wonderfully delusional exterminator who keeps barging in). The acting is excellent across the board, with Shayelin Martin a standout as our protagonist. It elicited laughter and tears from the audience in the theater, connecting with children *and* adults who are caught in a cycle of being painfully hard on themselves. Maggie may be confused by what she sees and feels, and even her eventual diagnosis as a synesthete won't make everything happy and easy, but she is coming closer to self-acceptance and appreciating the human connection she's finally found.

The title comes from a nickname bestowed by the young man Maggie's fallen for, an astronomy student who shares her fascination with the passing Hale-Bopp comet. Like the things she perceives and dwells on, it's a mysterious connection that feeds her soul and helps her emerge from the bubble of deep confusion and self-pity. It's a beautiful and kind movie without a trace of cynicism, something families can share and feel good about as they remember their own times of doubt, confusion, connection, and ultimately a new understanding of the strange and wonderful things that make us who we are.

Magnetosphere is a well-made, entertaining and enjoyable story about an adolescent girl with synesthesia, a neurological condition which causes her to experience multiple senses at once, e.g. To taste words or hear colors.

Like all of Nicola Rose's work, the film has professional production values (impressively done on an indie budget), a solid cast, and engaging characters. The film's serious subject matter is leavened with humor -- I found myself laughing out loud many times during the screening.

Magnetosphere follows a few months in the life of an adolescent girl as she navigates a new home, family conflict, first love, and school bullying. Her typical adolescent angst is magnified (sorry) by her undiagnosed synesthesia, which is brought to life for the audience through the use of colorful animation -- causing us to experience a medical condition as a kind of window into a magical world.

At times, I wished the storyline's conflicts were more focused, but this is a quibble. Overall, I very much enjoyed this impressive, original, and very funny film with its compassionate exploration of a little-understood but very interesting topic.