Praise goes to Georges Du Fresne , the child actor who seems , in some prodigious way , to understand his character ( Stanley Kauffmann , the New Republic ) . Dissenting , the Wall Street Journal ' s Joe Morgenstern says the movie is cloying , cheerful nonsense and that its creators don 't realize that this kid is profoundly troubled .
The child actor , Du Fresne , was in Shawshank Redemption .