Warning: this review contains spoilers of the movie. If you’d rather not know what the story is going to include, bookmark this page and read it after reading.
Martian Child is based on David Gerrold‘s Hugo- and Nebula-winning story “The Martian Child”. It’s about a single science fiction writer named David Gordon (played by John Cusack) who, following the death of his wife, decides to continue with their plans to adopt a child. The boy, Dennis (played by Bobby Coleman), is living in a group home because he has difficulty integrating himself into society. He’s decided that he’s from another planet, Mars, to be specific, so the sun is too bright for him, and he needs a weight belt to keep from floating away (a six-year-old’s understanding of gravity need not align with an adult’s view). The director of the group home in which Dennis lives really does think David would be the ideal parent for Dennis, since he writes science fiction, and deals with non-reality all the time. But David isn’t sure he can or should take on the responsibility of being a single parent, and his sister (played by Cusack’s sister Joan) is quite adamant that, no matter what problems David envisions, the reality is going to be even harder.
David and Dennis have a slowly evolving relationship. David brings him sunblock and sunglasses, and eventually decides that he can and should take in Dennis, and the bulk of the movie is their growing relationship. Science fiction writer David suddenly finds himself the father of a six-year-old boy, an alien even if he were completely “normal.” And Dennis, we eventually learn, is very stand-offish because he doesn’t want to be hurt, abandoned, again.
The social worker provides compassionate conflict, truly caring for Dennis’s well-being, and David’s best friend and potential love interest is there every step of the way. But as a new single parent, David has to do it all on his own: learn how to live with this alien he’s taken into his home; help Dennis become more human (or at least fake it when he’s out in public); and maintain his career (there are some nice scenes with his agent and his editor, but I’m guessing Hollywood agents aren’t quite the same as New York agents, because David’s seems remarkably different from those I know).
With a title like Martian Child, viewers might be excused for thinking this a science fiction movie, but it most definitely is not. Dennis does some strange things, but they’re not much stranger than most people have seen in bright, withdrawn children. The few examples of truly alien behavior might be written off as mere coincidence. And in the end, we learn, it doesn’t really matter if Dennis is a Martian or not: he’s living on Earth, and he’s found a family that won’t abandon him.
Visually, David’s house is wonderful: I want to grow up to be the writer who can live there. The scenes of Dennis in his box (avoiding the sun) are poignant and remarkably realistic. And the connections they make at the planetarium really do bring it all together.
There’s a happy ending, and these are characters the viewer can relate to, but it’s not a “feel good” movie. No adventure, not much action, but definitely worth watching. And that’s not unexpected: David Gerrold himself was one of the producers.