You need to keep a keen eye on Patricia Clarkson. She's a sorceress of an actress who makes wicked magic, be it on TV (Six Feet Under) or stage (A Streetcar Named Desire) and in movies from High Art and Far From Heaven to Pieces of April, The Station Agent and Vicky Cristina Barcelona. Clarkson is at her brilliant best in Phoebe in Wonderland. And that is saying something. She plays Miss Dodger, a drama teacher who seems to have dropped out of Alice in Wonderland. It's only appropriate, since…

Strong, sympathetic performances anchor this wistful drama about a young girl, who retreats into her imagination as a way with dealing with life. Don't we all.

Story

Phoebe (Elle Fanning) is a particularly bright and imaginative child, yet she's not entirely able to relate to her family and those around her. When she is cast in her school's production of Alice in Wonderland, she begins to confuse reality with fantasy which causes problems at school and at home, exacerbating tensions within her…