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Bee SeasonClaudia PuigThe haunting family drama Bee Season centers on a young girl who wins spelling bees, but that is just one element in a complex story of family turmoil and the search for spiritual meaning. Based on the captivating novel by Myla Goldberg, Bee Season is evocative and superbly acted. It doesn't quite manage the shattering emotionality of the novel, but it's an intriguing, if slightly plodding, adaptation. Directed by Scott McGehee and David Siegel, the talented directors of the masterful 2001 thriller The Deep End, Bee Season probes similar territory: a seemingly picture-perfect family fraying at the seams. At first glance they seem like a close-knit family, but the Naumanns live complex, separate lives in a dark home that holds many secrets. A kaleidoscope that Eliza, 11, received from her mother symbolizes how the family's shared experience has been shattered. And it is up to Eliza to re-connect her fractured family. Flora Cross plays the gifted Eliza Naumann in a minimalist wide-eyed fashion, conveying a potent blend of innocence and knowing. When her spelling prowess is revealed, she becomes the pet project of her father, Saul, a religious studies professor. Richard Gere plays Saul with finesse, embodying the novel's self-absorbed but charismatic character. He's a man who insists on fixing nightly family dinners but keeps his home office off-limits to all but the family's "star," which has shifted from his older son, Aaron, a cellist, to Eliza. Saul sees something almost mystical in the way Eliza approaches spelling and begins to teach her about the Kabbalah, the study of Jewish mysticism. Meanwhile, Aaron (Max Minghella) becomes unmoored when his father's attentions shift and embarks on his own spiritual quest. Also in search of meaning is their mother, Miriam (Juliette Binoche), the film's most mysterious and troubled character. The adaptation is an admirable effort, particularly because the book is so cerebral and layered. But some random changes from the novel are baffling: In the book, Saul was a temple cantor, but in the film, he's a scholar, which makes it harder to understand why Saul and Eliza are so intent upon her religious transcendence. The movie is about transcendence, whether through the power of words or spirituality. Eliza dismantles and rebuilds words when she spells, using a kind of mental kaleidoscope that is portrayed visually as a kind of magical realism. But the words needed for family members to communicate don't materialize as easily.
Bee Season is a thought-provoking exploration of the search for meaning and spiritual fulfillment. That's rarely the stuff of mainstream movies, so this serious-minded film is a welcome effort.
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