‘Odd Life’ makes heartwarming claim on family and originality

“The Odd Life of Timothy Green”

Directed by: Peter…“The Odd Life of Timothy Green”

Directed by: Peter Hedges

Starring: Jennifer Garner, Joel Edgerton, CJ Adams

Grade: B

If a boy bloomed from the garden after a supernatural thunderstorm, most parents would feel some concern inviting the leaf-covered child into their homes.

Luckily for Timothy, the Greens aren’t most parents.

Set in a picturesque town that runs almost entirely on its pencil production, “The Odd Life of Timothy Green” recounts the story of Timothy (CJ Adams) as Jim (Joel Edgerton) and Cindy Green (Jennifer Garner) tell his tale to adoption services. Without excluding a single detail, the two recount the unlikely situation just as they recall it — fantastic and with little explanation.

Jennifer Garner plays Cindy Green — a timid, infertile wife who desperately wants a child. Not unlike her character in the 2007 film “Juno,” she has a soft-spoken attitude and a kind heart that keeps viewers rooting for her even when she exhibits neurotic parental behavior. Her fervent desire to have a baby immediately elicits compassion from the audience.

Her husband, Jim, wants a child as much as Cindy does, and when the two learn they will not be able to reproduce, they’re devastated. Trying to console his wife during this tough time, he seems at first to do all the wrong things. Eventually, however, the two decide to accept the reality of their situation. But first, they spend one more night dreaming of their perfect biological child, who they know will never exist.

On separate notebook pages, Jim and Cindy each make a list of attributes they’d always hoped to see in their child. Both give their dream baby a good heart, honesty to a fault and an inviting sense of humor. Though they don’t wish for their child to be an exceptional athlete, they do hope that one day he’d score the winning goal of a game, leaving them screaming with pride from the bleachers — a wish that will later have them biting their tongues.

But wishful thinking doesn’t change the Greens’ unfortunate situation. With any hopes of a future that includes a child decimated, the Greens bury the notebook pages in a box deep in their garden.

A wild storm plagues the Green house that night, and Jim awakes to the crashing boom of thunder. As rain sucks back into the sky rather than falling — one of many unrealistic moments throughout the film — an unknown visitor runs through the house hiding behind the refrigerator, under the covers and into the nursery that the Greens thought would never be filled. When the less-than-fearful couple searches for their intruder, they find a boy named Timothy, covered in dirt and sprouting leaves from his legs. He claims he’s “from the garden.”

The entirety of the film maintains a strange tone that borders the fine line between quirky and terrifying. For some reason, none of the movie’s characters question Timothy’s presence in the Greens’ life, which — even aside from the unbreakable leaves stemming from his legs — is entirely nonsensical. He appears quickly, immediately affecting the lives of everyone around him, but his arrival provokes no questions from the otherwise overinvolved townspeople.

But such inconsistencies don’t mean “The Odd Life of Timothy Green” is a total loss. Though the film is based on an entirely unrealistic plot that tampers with ideas of the paranormal, it strikes a compassionate chord with the audience.

Timothy is often the object of ridicule from his peers, getting made fun of for his lack of athleticism or goofy persona. But his constant positivity makes him a likeable character who eventually wins over some of his bullies.

Even Jim and Cindy, through all of their obnoxious parenting, come across as likeable characters. Seeking to provide the best childhood for their garden child, they work hard to make him friends, keep him happy and love him unconditionally. Their intense behavior stems solely from the love they have for Timothy, absolving them of many of their faults and mistakes.

Searching to teach a valuable lesson about acceptance and love, “The Odd Life of Timothy Green” incites a good feeling in its viewers. But with its many strange plot twists and wholly improbable premise, it still plants a few questions for audience members.