Cast: Clive Owen, Laura Fraser, Emma Booth, George MacKay, Nicholas McAnulty
The Boys Are Back follows Joe Warr (Owen) and his wild son Artie (McAnulty) as they try to overcome the death of their beloved wife and mother, Katy (Fraser). Joe is an English sports writer who followed Katy to Australia after making her pregnant. He is a man's man with a boisterous exuberance; but in losing Katy he has lost his biggest fan, and he is broken and scared at the prospect of living without her.
Artie is unable to register the enormity of his loss on a cerebral level, but he feels it powerfully in his heart. Artie possesses an implacable and passionate energy that saves them both from despair; as Joe writes "just say yes" on their fridge, and they decide to say yes to whatever wild and fanciful whim takes hold of them. They have water balloon fights in the house, eat pizza in the middle of the night, and drive along the beach with Artie hanging on to the bonnet of the car.
It is at this point that Joe gets an unexpected call from his ex-wife in London (it turns out he was married with one child when he followed Katy to Oz) explaining that his teenage son is heading out to Australia to live with him...
Harry (MacKay) is an awkward teenager who could not be more of an antithesis to the Warr's frenetic new lifestyle. But when he is eventually won over by their vivacity the trio realise that, as a team, they stand some chance of achieving happiness. When Harry returns to England after an apocalyptic argument, Joe and Artie follow him to beg for his return. It is in England that Joe is forced to confront his personal demons in order to persuade Harry to return to their new family.
Scott Hicks' adaptation of Simon Carr's novel is certainly a beautiful film. Visually it is quite stunning, and evocative of rural Australia's warmth and vibrance; and the tone is perfect, feeling neither dull and depressing nor insincerely uplifting. There are moments of deeply-affecting and powerful drama, and Hicks even manages to elicit a respectable performance from Clive Owen, one of the most boring and awkward actors around.
But there are inherent flaws that affect the emotional journey of the story and prevent this from being one of the years great films. The film starts out exploring the theme of grief and the effect it has on familial relationships. We see Joe's relationships with his friends and family changing dramatically and worry about how he can overcome his grief. But as the film develops, it becomes a story about his relationship with Harry and his inability to confront the mistakes he has made in the past. At the end of the film we are not really sure he has done either, and despite the poetic beauty and emotional tone, the ending lacks the emotional power the story deserves.
The Boys Are Back follows Joe Warr (Owen) and his wild son Artie (McAnulty) as they try to overcome the death of their beloved wife and mother, Katy (Fraser). Joe is an English sports writer who followed Katy to Australia after making her pregnant. He is a man's man with a boisterous exuberance; but in losing Katy he has lost his biggest fan, and he is broken and scared at the prospect of living without her.
Artie is unable to register the enormity of his loss on a cerebral level, but he feels it powerfully in his heart. Artie possesses an implacable and passionate energy that saves them both from despair; as Joe writes "just say yes" on their fridge, and they decide to say yes to whatever wild and fanciful whim takes hold of them. They have water balloon fights in the house, eat pizza in the middle of the night, and drive along the beach with Artie hanging on to the bonnet of the car.
It is at this point that Joe gets an unexpected call from his ex-wife in London (it turns out he was married with one child when he followed Katy to Oz) explaining that his teenage son is heading out to Australia to live with him...
Harry (MacKay) is an awkward teenager who could not be more of an antithesis to the Warr's frenetic new lifestyle. But when he is eventually won over by their vivacity the trio realise that, as a team, they stand some chance of achieving happiness. When Harry returns to England after an apocalyptic argument, Joe and Artie follow him to beg for his return. It is in England that Joe is forced to confront his personal demons in order to persuade Harry to return to their new family.
Scott Hicks' adaptation of Simon Carr's novel is certainly a beautiful film. Visually it is quite stunning, and evocative of rural Australia's warmth and vibrance; and the tone is perfect, feeling neither dull and depressing nor insincerely uplifting. There are moments of deeply-affecting and powerful drama, and Hicks even manages to elicit a respectable performance from Clive Owen, one of the most boring and awkward actors around.
But there are inherent flaws that affect the emotional journey of the story and prevent this from being one of the years great films. The film starts out exploring the theme of grief and the effect it has on familial relationships. We see Joe's relationships with his friends and family changing dramatically and worry about how he can overcome his grief. But as the film develops, it becomes a story about his relationship with Harry and his inability to confront the mistakes he has made in the past. At the end of the film we are not really sure he has done either, and despite the poetic beauty and emotional tone, the ending lacks the emotional power the story deserves.
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