Wondrous Oblivion

PG

2003

1h 46m

Comedy

Drama

List

65%

40 Reviews

Tomatometer

68%

1,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

White residents react with horror when a Jamaican family moves into their working-class neighborhood in 1960 London. However, 11-year-old David Wiseman (Sam Smith) discovers that he and his new neighbor, Dennis (Delroy Lindo), share a passion for cricket. Later, David's mother (Emily Woof) discovers that she has a passion for Dennis.

Read More

Read Less

Critics Consensus

This coming-of-age/cricket tale wants to be touching, but is too often sappy.

Read Critics Reviews

Audience Member

This film features the beginnings of ideas, but thoughts are not carried through. The scope is too wide and the script and direction fail to carry it off. There's a strange flatness to emotional scenes -- such as someone warning of a fire and that people need to get out. Too often this has the strange energy and lack of authenticity often seen in an amateur stage production.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

01/30/23

Full Review

robbie v

Bend it like Warne. Pale imitation.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

I don't know (or care about) the first thing about cricket, but I loved this movie. It was a great story and had a point. It was cute and powerful-I would highly recommend.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/23/23

Full Review

Audience Member

This is an uplifting, feel-good movie with a happy ending that I'd feel comfortable sharing with my grandchildren. Even, to an American, with no understanding of cricket, there is sufficient excitement and relation to the idolization of sports heroes that is common to our sporting traditions. The racial and religious coloring, the demonstration of good instincts overcoming obstacles, the setting in working class England, the Jamaican and Jewish immigrants finding common ground in celebration of this most English of sports, all made for wonderful holiday entertainment. I thought that the sexual tension was resolved in fairy tale fashion, and the movie seemingly ending in a "they went on to live happily, ever after" theme, was just kind of fable that I wanted to believe in, this holiday season.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/23/23

Full Review

Audience Member

A fine example of cinematic storytelling. Cricket is a theme and those who appreciate the sport will like this, but it's really about social change on several levels.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/06/23

Full Review

Audience Member

jangan anggap enteng film ini,,walaupun hanya mendapat rating 3 bintang,,,akan tetapi tema cerita yg di angkat sangat mengena..,, memadukan 2 ras tertindas sebagai center utama film..,,di kemasnya pun tidak seperti drama "strongly moving"...film ini lebih dekat dengan keceriaan,,,... film ini mengingatkanku dengan film "billy elliot",,dmana sang karakter mengejar impiannya tanpa harus peduli dengan lingkungan sekitarnya..,,

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/16/23

Full Review

Read all reviews

Post a rating

Paul Morrison

Director

Sam Smith

David Wiseman

Delroy Lindo

Dennis Samuels

Emily Woof

Ruth Wiseman

Stanley Townsend

Victor Wiseman

Angela Wynter

Grace Samuels

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

60%

84%

Secondhand Lions

88%

78%

Millions

36%

62%

What a Girl Wants

73%

92%

The Best Two Years

57%

72%

The Importance of Being Earnest

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

Critical Consensus: "Borat" Best Reviewed Film Of Year: High-Five!; "Flushed Away" Worth A Spin; "Santa Clause 3" Gets Coal

View more photos

Antonia Quirke

London Evening Standard

This competitive atmosphere of unease moves the film along, but it is full of forebodings that it does not follow through. Something for socially alert, gentle 12-year olds.

Dec 15, 2017

Full Review

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.

Rated: 3/4

Jan 12, 2007

Full Review

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.

Rated: 4.5/5

Dec 30, 2006

Full Review

Jules Brenner

Cinema Signals

The challenges of friendship across color lines.

Rated: 3/5

Jun 17, 2007

Full Review

Maria Garcia

Film Journal International

Evocative, beautifully photographed and skillfully directed.

Mar 1, 2007

Full Review

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.

Rated: 3/4

Feb 1, 2007

Full Review

Read all reviews

Synopsis

White residents react with horror when a Jamaican family moves into their working-class neighborhood in 1960 London. However, 11-year-old David Wiseman (Sam Smith) discovers that he and his new neighbor, Dennis (Delroy Lindo), share a passion for cricket. Later, David's mother (Emily Woof) discovers that she has a passion for Dennis.

Director: Paul Morrison
Producer: Michael Kuhn, Kevin Loader
Screenwriter: Paul Morrison
Production Co: APT Productions
Rating: PG (Thematic Material|Racial Remarks|Language|Brief Smoking by Minors|Sensuality|Some Violence)
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English (United Kingdom)
Rerelease Date (Theaters): Jul 21, 2006
Release Date (DVD): Mar 20, 2007
Box Office (Gross USA): $88.6K
Runtime: 1h 46m
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital