Martian Child

David Gordon is a science fiction writer grieving the recent death of his wife, and his hopes of having a family have faded with her. Encouraged by his sister, he contacts a social worker and considers adopting Dennis, an intense six-year-old who has bounced between foster placements and insists he is from Mars. David, whose best friend Harlee is a steady presence in his life, goes ahead with the adoption against the doubts of those around him, and as Dennis's odd behavior and the strange things that happen near him accumulate, David starts to wonder whether the boy might be telling the truth. His editor, meanwhile, would prefer David get back to writing.

Menno Meyjes directed the film, the second of the five features he has made, following Max and preceding A Matador's Mistress, The Dinner and Silent Fear. The screenplay is by Seth Bass and Jonathan Tolins. John Cusack plays David, with Bobby Coleman as Dennis, Amanda Peet as Harlee, Sophie Okonedo as Sophie, Joan Cusack as Liz and Oliver Platt as Jeff, among a credited cast of 35.

Released in November 2007, the film runs 106 minutes. Made for a budget of about 27 million dollars, it took in roughly 9 million worldwide, a poor return. Audiences are warmer than critics: it holds 6.7 out of 10 on IMDb from around 21,000 votes and the same 6.7 on TMDB from 332 votes, while the critics' rating stands at 5.2 out of 10 from 108 reviews.