Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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31 of 33 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Family Variations, December 16, 2007
DECEMBER BOYS is a fine little Australian film based on the novel by Michael Noonan (to whom the film is dedicated), adapted for the screen by Marc Rosenberg, and directed by Rod Hardy, and while the story takes place in the 1960s, it remains warmly contemporary in its message. And for once it presents the good side of orphanages, rather than the Dickens view.
In the Australian outback there is an orphanage run by nuns, a spot in the dry country where the arid landscape flattens everything until an occasional storm provides temporary lakes for fishing and playing. Four young lads are bonded not only by the fact that they are orphans dues to various sad reasons, but they all have birthdays in December - Maps (Daniel Radcliffe), Misty (Lee Cormie, Sparks (Christian Byers), and Spit (James Fraser. Fearing for retribution for their smoking and other mild infractions at the orphanage they are called into the headmaster's office where they discover that a benefactor has decided to give the orphan boys a holiday each year. The four lads are to spend time with a family at a tiny ocean cove setting. Delighted, they are off to meet their family - Bandy (Jack Thompson) and his wife Skipper (Kris McQuade) - who live in a small shack beside a few other neighbors. The world seems to have opened to the boys and each finds first time joy in living - fishing from neighbor Shellback's (Ralph Cotterill) old boat, riding a motorcycle with neighbor Fearless (Sullivan Stapleton), spying on the nude bathing wife of Fearless, Theresa (Victoria Hill), and finding first love with the young, seductive Lucy (Teresa Palmer). The boys are in heaven until Misty overhears Fearless and Theresa bemoaning their childless marriage and plan to adopt on of the boys. Challenges occur in physical, emotional, and spiritual ways: who will be the chosen 'son'? The manner in which the answer is decided opens a whole new meaning to the concept of family.
The cast is ingratiating and the settings and the music are lovely. The supporting cast of nuns and priest (Frank Gallacher, Judi Farr, Carmel Johnson) are particularly fine. The screenplay fails to fully investigate the motivations of all of the characters and there remain holes in the plot line that could have easily been remedied: symbolism in the form of a wild stallion, a huge fish named Henry, and surreal appearances of the Virgin Mary become a bit obscure. But despite these flaws (and an ending, or epilogue, that is pure corny Hollywood), DECEMBER BOYS is heartwarming and a fine movie for the entire family. Recommended. Grady Harp, December 07
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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Boiled Lamb..., December 27, 2007
Poorly promoted as "Harry Potter's break out film", December Boys was a gorgeous film to watch, its story sad and compelling. Anyone with an affection for the beauty that is Kangaroo Island will appreciate the stunning scenery in the film. I have not read the book, and apparently the story in the film is a radical departure from its source literature. The setting is the 1960s Oz Outback, an orphanage housing 4 boys ranging in age from 9-16, all of whom were born in the month of December (though they don't know their birth dates). When a special donation is made to the orphanage, all 4 boys are taken on their first excursion to the sea, where the rumor awaits that one of them will be adopted by a family there. Having been best friends all their lives, the boys spend the summer competing for the family's affection. The obvious pressure of being scrutinized and inevitably separated so that one of them can gain a family is hard to watch. The added experiences of the change in environment and meeting new people lightens the mood, though bring new hardships, as well. The narrative is the memory of one of the younger boys, Misty. I enjoyed the interjections of Misty's young lucid mind having shaped his interpretation of events without the adult clarity to fully process them. Along that vein I loved how it wasn't always evident how Misty's imagination was interpreting events, as the film blurred odd surrealistic visuals.
All said this film was an excellent next move for an emerging child-to-adult actor. Radcliffe did well in it. He does restrained emotion very well, which allows viewers to be involved in the story but keep an emotional detachment from its progress. In that respect, the film isn't over dramatized. It accomplishes allowing viewers to identify with each of the boys without being sentimental, which I think shows the craft of the writing and direction more than any other facet of the film. It's clearly a very sad and traumatic time, in the adult mind watching it. But for the young ones living it it's just... life, a time that when processed later as adults, they realized how pivotal it was.
I must say that I was not impressed with the portrayal of the femme fatale character in the film, who was the love interest of the eldest boy, Maps. The story gave no indication for [i]why[/i] she behaved as she did. I felt that part of the story needed to be told in order for me to have any sympathy for her. There was an air of things not being quite right in her personal life, but without it being rooted more firmly and evidently into the main arc of Maps, she just came across two-dimensional.
No, it's not a blockbuster, and I see now why it was never promoted as such. It is what it is--an indie film whose subtle artfulness would go the wayside for many mainstream audiences. I was, however, struck by the fact that a lot of people who would otherwise find Radcliffe to be narrow in his skills will not see this film; thus, it will take him even longer to break out of that HP type to which the general public and industry holds him.
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12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Timeless, December 12, 2007
Wonderful heartwarming pic. Beautiful scenery and great, genuine acting. Don't expect explosions or fast-paced action, because this isn't that kind of movie, but you can be assured that by the end you will 'feel' something real and touching.
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