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The Boys Are Back

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The essence of THE BOYS ARE BACK is "fatherhood", i.e. what it means to be a Dad. It's an absolutely lovely film absolutely worth seeing.

Joe Warr (Clive Owen) suddenly finds himself a single father when his young wife Katy (Laura Fraser) precipitously dies of intestinal cancer. Joe, the lead and oft-on-the-road sportswriter for Melbourne's major newspaper, must now connect with his six-year old son Artie (Nicholas McAnulty). Coming to visit from England is his 14-year old son from a previous marriage, Harry (George MacKay), whom Joe pretty much abandoned to his first wife years before on their divorce.

THE BOYS ARE BACK is about male bonding - father with motherless son, father with fatherless son, brother with half-brother. In this clubhouse, the women, whether it be Joe's mother-in-law Barbara (Julia Blake) or potential new significant-other Laura (Emma Booth), are almost intruders.

Filmed mostly on Australia's striking south coast and with a soundtrack featuring haunting songs by Iceland's Sigur Rós, this film contains what is perhaps Clive Owen's finest and most nuanced performance to date. I wouldn't be surprised if Owen is nominated for an Oscar for this role, which is the best by a male actor I've seen in 2009.

Too often, I think, the societal presumption is that children of marriages broken by death or divorce are better off with mothers, that fathers are somehow less loving and less skilled at parenting. At least in this must-see film, that is emphatically not the case.

I left the screening keen on THE BOYS ARE BACK more than I can adequately express.

P.S. 1/21/2010 Now that 2009 is finished, I must say that Owen's performance, while not THE best of 2009, is one of three best, joining Morgan Freeman of INVICTUS and Jeff Bridges of CRAZY HEART. Good company, that.

"The Boys Are Back", the new film directed by Scott Hicks ("Shine"), is a film that is "Based on a True Story". But as you watch it, you may ask yourself "What is so remarkable about this story that it warrants the big screen treatment?" In "Shine", we met an extraordinarily interesting man who we wanted to learn more about. A lot more. And Geoffrey Rush made the film all the better with his mesmerizing, star marking performance.

As you watch "Boys", you will probably answer the question I asked before with 'Nothing'.

"The Boys are Back" is the pretty common story of Joe Warr (Clive Owen), a British sportswriter who now lives and works in Australia, writing about sports for an Australian newspaper. He moved to Australia because he fell in love with his current wife and they had a child. Now a single parent, Joe finds himself trying to adapt to caring for his young son (played by Nicholas McAnulty). After a bit of time mourning and learning to care for his young son, he gets a call from his older son, Harry (George MacKay) who lives in England, with his mom, Joe's first wife. He wants to come and visit. Initially, Joe is a bit amazed at the timing, but realizes he and his older son must have some needs that aren't being met. Joe soon finds himself the adult in a household gone mad, but this is how he prefers it; there are few rules and even less discipline and he hopes this will allow for the ultimate amount of bonding, healing and love. There are complications, but these only serve to push everyone closer together.

There is really nothing remarkable about the story behind "The Boys Are Back"; single father has to adjust and begin caring for his two sons. In fact, if the parent were a mom, this would make the perfect material for a Lifetime Channel movie. A bad Lifetime Channel movie. But because the director is Scott Hicks and he is working with Clive Owen, an actor who is clearly at the top of his game, and two young actors who are really quite amazing, the film becomes extraordinary and moving and memorable.

Owen makes the role of Joe Warr seem effortless, as though he is a British ex-pat living in Australia, working for a major newspaper as a sports writer. It all starts with the few scenes we watch between Joe and his wife. Joe is clearly in love and misses every moment he is away. It is even more shocking for us as we watch him react to her suddenly dropping to the floor and our heartbreaks as Joe cares for his ailing wife. Owen is playing a fairly common guy so it seems even more remarkable that he is able to make the performance seem so good. As he watches his wife die, he realizes his young son may need some help coping, but the little guy seems like any other young kid; unaware of the problem and the severity of what is going on.

As Owen portrays this character, we understand his struggles and the problems he is experiencing. He receives a call from his first son, who wants to come and visit from England. The look on Joe's face says it all. This is not a good time and he really wants to tell him that, but how do you tell your son that? So, he agrees to the visit. Soon, Joe and Artie arrive at the airport to meet Henry.

As soon as Henry arrives, he instantly realizes there is a certain distance between them and is unsure how to close this. He decides to let everything be a little more natural and hopes the bonding will come with time.

As Joe deals with this situation, trying to deal with his own grief while trying to help Artie deal with the death of his mom, trying to reconnect with his older son, trying to be a dad, he decides to let them do what they want. They run through the house, play, eat what they want when they want, it is heaven for them.

Joe attracts the attention of a single mom and she starts to come over, bringing her daughter to play with Artie. While she is attracted to Joe, and admires his parenting style, she can't help but comment about the state of his house (which quickly becomes filthy) and his ability to avoid addressing any sort of disciplinary issues.

These very same qualities serve to alarm Joe's mother-in-law. She completely disapproves of the way he is handling her grandson's upbringing and wants to take him in. Joe flat our refuses.

"The Boys Are Back" is about how Joe deals with his two sons. And Clive Owen is great, but without equally convincing performances from the two sons the film would not work. Thankfully, the two child actors are great.

George McKay plays Henry, Joe's son from his first marriage. As soon as he enters this new household, his eyes open wide, taking in the wild abandon in which Artie, his younger half-brother behaves. It is like he is experiencing true childhood for the first time. He immediately adapts and falls into this life style. As the story continues, we learn he was studying at a strict prep school and we understand what is going on. We understand why he loves this new environment so much.

And Nicholas McAnulty plays Joe's younger son, Artie. From the moment we realize Joe's wife is going to die, Artie continues to run around and play, flying a model airplane as he careens through the house. He is too young to understand what is happening and just does what comes naturally. As his father adjusts with his new life as a full time parent, Artie isn't beyond letting his displeasure known (Joe makes a late trip to the supermarket to get some dinner and we watch Artie standing a few yards away putting because he is hungry) and seems even more frustrated because he can't express his feelings.

The movie is better because Clive Owen goes to great lengths to make his portrayal of new full time dad Joe very convincing, But the two kids playing his sons are equally convincing and help take "The Boys Are Back" to a new level.

There is a lot of Oscar buzz surrounding Owen's performance. And it is richly deserved; he is that good. And because the film basically tells the story of a normal guy coping with a death, the fact it is so memorable is even more remarkable.

This is a great little movie, sadly under-rated, with wonderful performances by all cast members. I know many reviews have praised young Nicholas McAnulty and, yes, Nicholas is brilliant - especially when you remember that he is an inexperienced 6 year old! On the other hand I felt that George Mackay, as the older brother Harry, stole the show! Absolutely wonderful performance by this young man with a great acting future ahead of him, I'm sure!

I may be a little prejudiced when it comes to this movie since I'm a HUGE Clive Owen fan and, because it was filmed where I live, I was fortunate enough to be a part of it - albeit as an extra but what a wonderful experience!

In a world of mix 'n' match families, this is a must see movie! As for the South Australian location - well that is a bonus!

Enjoy!

If Clive Owens accepted the role of Joe Warr (based on the autobiography of Simon Carr) as an attempt to break away from his type casting as a blood and thunder action hero, he at least proved that he is able to step beyond his usual screen presence. Though the story of a happily married sports writer to a beautiful young second wife Katy (Laura Fraser), enjoying their one child Artie (Nicholas McAnulty), who abruptly becomes a single parent when Katy dies from metastatic carcinoma, placing him in the uncomfortable position of becoming a single parent, is not unique among the tearful novels that have also made their way to the screen, this film survives on the quality of the cast. Not only does Joe have to overcome the treacherous terrain of tending to housekeeping along with the tenuous gap that occurs when a parent dies and the remaining parent must tend to the grief of the remaining child, but he also must cope with the young Harry (George McKay), his son by his first marriage in England (his second family is in Australia) who feels deserted and asks to come to live with Joe and his half brother Artie. The film lingers over the madness of a household of males, tinkers with tricky problems with inlaws and his exwife, but in the end the message is that with 'growth' on the parts of each of the three males in the tale, happiness is possible.

The film's intent is admirable and the cast of characters selected to portray these people - Owens shows real potential as a serious dramatic actor, George McKay is particularly excellent as the elder son - is very well selected. The film is long, and could be easily edited without altering the impact of the story. Director Scott Hicks allows the film to become predictable and overly saccharine: less could definitely have been more. But it is a good evening's entertainment. And Clive Owens CAN do Hallmark-type films for TV! Grady Harp, January 10

In 2009, "The Boys are Back" is a film from BBC films, adapted from the novel "The Boys are Back in Town" by Simon Carr and was distributed in the US from Miramax Films.

The film is directed by Scott Hicks (""Snow Falling on Cedars", "No Reservations", "Shine") and a screenplay adaptation by Allan Cubitt ("The Hound of Baskervilles", "Anna Karenina: TV Series"). The film features cinematography by Greig Fraser ("Spider", "Last Ride", "Bright Star") and music by composer Hal Lindes ("Apparitions", "Little Devil", "Losing Gemma").

"The Boys are Back" is about a busy sportswriter in Australia named Joe Warr (played by Clive Owen, "Sin City", "Children of Men", "Shoot `Em Up"). Because he travels so much, his wife Katy (played by Laura Fraser, "The Passion", "The Flying Scotsman", "No Holds Bard") raises their five-year-old son Artie (played by Nicholas McAnulty).

For Joe, his connection with Artie is brief since he works a lot and their main emotional connection is when he brings over gifts when he comes home. But fortunately Katy and her parents have been there for Artie.

But one night as he goes out with his wife to a dinner party, she feels sick to her stomach and collapses. She has cancer and it has spread throughout her body and she doesn't have much time left. Joe tries to prepare Artie for his mom's inevitable death but both are not prepared of how life would be afterward without their mom.

Without his mother, Joe now wants to connect with his son and be there and takes time off from his work. Joe sees life differently now as he is forced to be a father for his son but most importantly, asking his son Harry (played by George McKay, "Defiance", "Peter Pan") from his first marriage to come stay with him in Australia.

But Joe realizes that he never really had any connection with his sons. When Harry was six, he left him to be with another woman who was pregnant with Artie. And thus, this is the first real time in their lives Joe and his son Harry are together and a similar situation with Artie who was always dependent on his mother. Now the three must live as a family but will Joe be the father that they need?

VIDEO & AUDIO:

"The Boys are Back" features beautiful cinematography from Southern Australia. Director Scott Hicks knew of what scenes he wanted in the film and Greg Fraser does a great job in showcasing the ocean, the blue skies, the yellow and green landscapes. The scenery is absolutely breathtaking. Shots of Joe and his wife Katy was well-filmed as with Joe and his sons. Key scenes showing the family bond and him trying to be there for his loved ones. The film is presented in Widescreen (2:35:1) - enhanced for 16×9 televisions.

As for audio, the film is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound with a Spanish language track included. The film is primarily dialogue driven with the occasional music. Dialogue is clear and understandable and is primarily front and center channel driven.

Subtitles are in English SDH and Spanish.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

"The Boys are Back" comes with the following special features:

* The Boys are Back: A Photographic Journey - (16:22) The following featurette showcases photography taken on the set of the film and behind-the-scenes. Optional commentary by director Scott Hicks is included as Hicks talks about working with the various talent and crew and filming in Southern Australia.
* A Father and Two Sons, On Set - (1:42) Author Simon Carr talks about the day his sons met the talent playing them and how the real life sons and the movie sons got a long quite well with each other.

JUDGMENT CALL:

"The Boys Are Back" is a film inspired by a true story and where films about life after a deceased parent is nothing new, what makes this film so special is the connection between father and two sons that he has never been close with because of his commitment of being one of the best sports writers out there. Always traveling to major sports competitions, he has always trusted his son with his wife.

But it's when the character of Joe is forced to take on the role of father, you can feel that wall between him and his son. He knows that he hasn't been much of a father but he's trying. But when his son Harry from a previous marriage comes to stay with them, this is when we see Joe start to learn about himself. Things he was not conscious about. He's only thought about his young son Artie with his current wife, its when he sees his son Harry, a son that he has not really been too close with, you realize that Harry has missed out on having a father and now Harry is learning first hand that even though he had this new family in Australia, he has always made decisions that would benefit himself and never realizing how his children were feeling.

It's a real-eye opening story that you don't really see too often in a film. As mentioned, Clive Owens does a great job with his performance as Joe but credit also goes to the children played by George McKay and Nicholas McNaulty. Also, the characters of Barbara played by Julia Blake. Blake plays a good grandmother but having lost her daughter to cancer, she wants to make sure that her only living connection with her daughter, which is her grandson, is taken care of. And Julia has a hard time trusting Joe who has made some bad decisions.

Another actress that deserves credit is model Emma Booth who plays the character Laura. A woman who takes care of Artie when Joe is gone and a single parent who has chemistry with Joe but doesn't know where there relationship/friendship is going. Is she just his babysitter or does Joe really care about her?

As for the film being rated PG-13, there are some scenes with profanity and some situations that you just don't want your young children to recreate in real life, such as riding on the hood of a vehicle to jumping into a bath. But there is no violence, no scary situations for children but some sexual language and certain elements that parents may not want their children to see.

The fact is that this is a dysfunctional family. A child losing his mother and having to deal with the person closes to him not there anymore, is hard for a young child. And the same with the character of Harry. A boy that loves his father but they have not been together since he left him and his mother. So, there is resentment. And for Joe, its just being put in the role of a single parent while having this major career which is now being affected. All three individuals are facing challenges that they have never faced before. But together as a family, they try to make things good and that is what the heart of the film is about.

Overall, "The Boys are Back" is a delightful, heartwarming film worth watching. Definitely recommended!

Well written and endearing - sad and emotional and a real lesson about parenting under onerous circumstances.

It is worthwhile to consider that this film is intended to follow very closely the long-leash child rearing technique brought forward in the book of the same title by Simon Carr. No doubt this approach to child rearing is unconventional, but whether somebody likes or agrees with the technique matters not. The point of view of the film was to examine this technique, including its potential shortcomings, in the context of a family trauma in which the father is placed into a new and unsettling role. The film succeeded very well in this regard. The diverse South Australian landscape is captured very well. The characters all deliver true to their roles, no glaring weak performances. There are a few minor flaws or awkward moments in the execution of the story, but the director generally edited well and created a film that did exactly what he had set out to do, and the actors performed with at least a little more depth than schlock that typically gets regurgitated out of Hollywood.

A brilliant movie. As someone who has been there, being a widowed male in my late 30's with a 3 year old child, I could identify readily with so many aspects of the film. The behaviour of the grieving child was exceptionally real, in my experience.

Highly recommended.

There's an honesty to `The Boys Are Back' (awful title for a genuinely good movie) that makes it so much better than I expected. Sure, it has flaws, and there are clichés that litter this `semi-biographical' film, but the overall feeling I'm left with is one of fractured beauty that makes me smile, cry and remember nearly every scene.

The film tells the story of Joe Warr, a sweet yet immature father and husband who loses his world when his beautiful wife suddenly dies of cancer. Having everything throw in the air, Joe dashes about trying to pick up every piece. A big piece is his young son, Artie, who isn't quite sure how to greive the loss of his mother. Throw in the mix an older son, from Joe's previous marriage, and you have a odd little family that blossoms out of failure. Joe wasn't a very good dad to his eldest son Harry. He left him when he was six and hasn't seen him since. Harry grew up in England with his mother while Joe started his new family over in Australia. Joe's job (sports writer) kept him even at arms length from Artie, but he certainly has a bond with the boy that Harry sees lacking in his own relationship. Soon after his wife's death, Joe finds himself picking Harry up from the airport, and that is when the real life begins for these three `boys'.

Don't get me wrong, there is a predictability here that one must expect. The see-saw of emotions between father and sons is there, as well as tensions between in-laws and the `other woman', but they are all handled with so much care and a sliver of originality that one feels as though this is real.

It's so incredibly moving.

The acting here on all counts is semi flawless. Clive Owen sinks into his role effortlessly, displaying raw depression and a earnestness to do right by his children (and most everyone else around him) despite constant failings. Emma Booth has a nice turn as a beauty (yes, she is stunning) who catches Joe's eye, and I really love the way the relationship is handled in the film. It is not as cliché as one might expect! Both George McAnulty and Nicholas McAnulty really soar as Joe's sons, especially George who just captures every bit of confused emotional angst Harry is feeling at every waking moment. Your heart breaks for him.

The film does not play up the schmaltz, which is commendable. It doesn't go for easy heart tugs, and when it does attempt to get your tear ducts working, it does so in a way that feels organic as apposed to manipulated. Because of that, your not going to bawl your eyes out as easily as you would watching a number of other films, but you will feel in your heart what you don't feel with those other films; a real love.

The Boys Are Back (2009) is one of those small indie films that people often don't discover in the theaters, but find on DVD or TV. I recently watched it on Showtime and found it to be a great gem of a movie (3.5 stars out of 5). Director Scott Hicks has brought us two other small but beautifully made films: Shine (1996) and Snow Falling On Cedars (1999). Clive Owen plays the lead character in The Boys Are Back, a husband and father who is both broken and free. His wife dies early in the movie, leaving him to reconcile his role as a father and a man. He left his first wife and son to live with his second wife. And they had a son of their own. As Owen's character Joe mourns his wife, he soon realizes he needs to reconnect with his first son who lives in England. Joe and his younger son live in Australia. The movie takes us on Joe's journey of reconnecting with his first son and learning how to parent his younger son. And Joe begins to understand what is most important for himself in living his own life.

This film is a little flat and melodramatic at times, but it makes up for it with some great scenes and good story. I wasn't sure at first if Owen was the right fit for this character, but by the end of the movie, I was sold on him in the role. The young actor who plays the first son, George MacKay, is wonderfully brilliant as a tortured teen who doesn't understand his father or why he was left behind. The photography in the film is brilliant as it showcases the Australian landscape and some Aussie architecture as well. I especially love the newspaper building where Joe works, with its headlines in large print all over its glass facade.

This is a small character-driven family drama, without any flash or sizzle, but just solid movie storytelling.