Hi, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab...
Nothing like a complete shift of tone to keep a director on his toes, and this sounds like it’s as far from 28 DAYS LATER as it can be. But is it good?
Hey, Harry, et al. Hope you’re feeling better. Bungion Boy here. I’ve contributed several times before for films like “Anchorman,” “Ray,” “In Good Company,” and many others. Tonight I had the excellent fortune of seeing Danny Boyle’s new film “Millions” at the AMC in New York. Let’s face it. Pixar is only releasing an average of a film every two years, and after they break from Disney, who knows how long it will be? Without them, it seems that most films geared towards families are either about talking zebras or Tim Allen. It would be nice to have a good family film out there that is actually enjoyable, moving, not condescending towards children, and entertaining for adults. I’m happy to report that “Millions” is most definitely that kind of film.
I may be biased because I seem to be quite a fan of cute, Irish kids. My favorite film of 2003 was Jim Sheridan’s “In America.” “Millions” isn’t as mature as that film but it was very reminiscent of another Sheridan film, “Into the West,” which Mike (Potter #4) Newell directed and is one of my favorite family films I’ve ever seen. That film was about two young boys grieving over the death of their mother when a mysterious horse enters their lives, providing closure and redemption for the boys and their emotionally dead father. Okay, come to think of it, “Millions” is in many ways the exact same film if you replace the horse with a bag of money, but the film is handled so well that its parallels to “Into the West” are not a bad thing. Not at all.
The story is about two brothers who have recently lost their mother. The older of the two, Anthony, seems to be handling it very well. He is smart, funny, and is an expert at economics. The younger, Damian (played by the uber cute and not Satanic at all Alexander Nathan Etel) has coped with it by creating a kind of fantasy world to live in, in which he is able to meet all of the biblical saints face to face. The fantasy element that this film had worried me at first. A lot of it seems to be influenced by the Jean-Pierre Jeunet films, (most noticeably “Amelie,”) which a lot of films seem to try to copy these days, such as “Love Me if You Dare,” a film I hated that I know Harry and most the AICN staff loved. However, the fantasy device is not over-used here and provides some very sweet and funny moments.
The film focuses on Damian finding a bag full of money, which he thinks is from God and decides to use it to give to the poor. Anthony is more interested in sharing a bit with his friends and spending the rest. And of course there is an ominous presence of the man who actually stole the money and now wants it back, which is the most tired device used in the film, but still provides some genuinely creepy moments. This is kind of odd material for Danny Boyle to take on, since he already tackled the same subject with “Shallow Grave” and is not a director ordinarily associated with family-friendly fluff, but he does a nice job here, making the film very colorful and alive. Another thing that makes the film so likable is the cast. The two boys are excellent and they are matched by the great James Nesbitt (“Bloody Sunday” and “Waking Ned Devine”), who does a great job of being very light and funny, rather than the depressed sad sack that we usually see in a character of a father who has just lost his wife. Just when I thought that this film was dragging out a bit in the middle, the final act takes it in a direction that I didn’t really expect, and it is here where Nesbitt is really able to shine. His role is a lot more difficult than it appears on the surface. He is very real, honest, and humanly flawed. All this builds to a standard, tear-jerking finale, which was undoubtedly clichéd, but since it jerked a tear or two from even me, I didn’t mind.
This really is a slight but wonderful film that is perfect, intelligent and honest fun for families of all ages. I’m not a religious person either, but I have to admit this is also one of the best spiritual films I’ve seen in recent years. I hope that the 700 Club and Christian Leagues choose to endorse this film, rather than the junk that they usually do like “Christmas With The Kranks.” I fear the film may run into a bit of trouble because of a hilarious scene in which Anthony shows Damian the wonders of the internet by searching for bra ads and looking for “Protruding Nipples.” It’s completely harmless but it’s the kind of thing that could make the MPAA rate this film from a PG to a PG-13. This is silly. The only people I would advise to shy away from the film are really young kids who could be scared by the criminal villain, but most kids should be fine with this. Kids are so smart these days, and finally it’s nice to see a film that is aware of that, rather than just giving them a rapping kangaroo. I think we’re all sick of seeing stuff like that.
-Bungion Boy
Nice work, man. I’m certainly interested, and even more so after that review.
"Moriarty" out.
