Juliette Binoche, Richard Gere, Max
Minghella, Kate Bosworth, Flora Cross
Producer
:
Ron Yerxa
Director
:
David Siegel, Scott McGehee
Genre
:
Drama, Family
Duration
:
104 mins
Eliza Naumann spells words. Lots
of words. Hard words. Long words. And with an effortlessness
and understanding that surprises everyone around
her. Her teachers, her fellow students. But especially
those closest to her: her father, mother and brother.
The people whose lives Eliza’s newfound genius
will irrevocably change.
As Eliza Naumann trains for the ultimate test of
her spelling powers the pressure-packed National
Spelling Bee in Washington D.C her family simultaneously
begins to fall apart. Indeed the more amazing the
words are that Eliza learns to spell, the more communication
seems to break down all around her.
Her father Saul, a religious studies professor,
sees something transcendent in Eliza’s magical
gift, and begins to teach her the secrets of Kabbalah.
He becomes obsessed with her victories, living vicariously
through her path to God. Her mother Miriam finds
Eliza and Saul’s shared focus a painful reminder
of the connection she once had with her husband
and her own parents, who died tragically when she
was a young girl. Meanwhile, Eliza’s older
brother Aaron, once her father’s favorite,
rebels against his withdrawal of affection, experimenting
with other religions, and eventually seeking out
a connection with a beautiful Hare Krishna. With
her family disintegrating before her young eyes,
it’s up to Eliza and an unexpected act of
selflessness and love to put the broken pieces of
her world back together
