December Boys
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Movie Reviews of December Boys
Movie Review: Awesome movie
Summary: 5 Stars
I've watched this movie before and I fell in love with it. Daniel Radcliffe was superb in this movie. I just can't get enough of itMovie Review: December Boys
Summary: 5 Stars
You are the best! Accurate description, great price, prompt shipping. What else could one ask for?Movie Review: Heartwarming and beautiful in every respect
Summary: 4 Stars
I came upon this film quite by accident when I turned on the TV this afternoon. I was intrigued by Daniel Radcliffe being in a non-Harry Potter movie, because I feel he has an innate ability to play characters who feel real and multi-dimensional. He didn't disappoint, delivering yet another beautiful portrayal of a soul coming to grips with his lot in life.
The movie begins somewhat soberly and you wonder what life must really be like for the boys in this Catholic orphanage. When four best friends, all boys born in December, are asked to stand to receive their gifts, I almost wondered if they weren't being punished instead because the nuns seemed so humorless and stiff. But then the boys learn that a generous benefactor has enabled them to spend a holiday at the coast (the orphanage is in the extremely flat and dull Australian Outback), and the film takes on a more relaxed feel.
Since I haven't read the book, I felt a little lost in a few places, like why this older couple wanted four boys to come spend the summer with them. Two of the boys' characters aren't well developed; the story focuses on the children as friends, and on two of the boys: Maps, the oldest (Daniel Radcliffe) and Misty, the bespectacled one who most wishes to be adopted and who narrates the film as an adult.
Even without some of the gaps filled in, I became absorbed in the story, especially once Misty overhears that a young couple there is thinking of adopting one of the boys. He does not initially tell his friends but begins to behave as the perfect child to win them over, but finally shares the rumor after being scolded to during confession. At that point, the boys' friendship is tested because they begin to compete for the couple's affections, and the viewer wonders if their deep bond will survive this test.
Along the way, Maps falls for a beautiful girl and gradually but excitedly lets his guard down in his first real experiences with a girl. Watching that part of the story unfold is bittersweet, but a triumph for Radcliffe, who at once shows that both he and his character are becoming a man while still really being just a boy.
At the risk of spoiling further aspects of the plot, I will say no more about the story. The scenery is beautifully shot and there is much beauty to be found. There are both light-hearted and heavy-hearted moments, and it's endearing to watch the boys figure out how they should behave in both situations, given their regimented lives at the orphanage. At the end, you may want a tissue, but you won't mind, having spent the previous 1:45 coming of age along with these boys.
Two final thoughts: Yes, it is heavy on the religion because the boys do live in a Catholic orphanage and it's not surprising their benefactors would be deeply religious as well. Misty himself is quite religious, and it's through his eyes that we see most of the religious symbols. I myself am not a Catholic but understood how this was an important part of the story. And I would not recommend this movie for children because there is some brief nudity and some sexual content; I wouldn't show it to my 13-year-old. I didn't notice the rating on it but for mature teens who'd appreciate the story it's probably okay.
Movie Review: Coming-of-age in South Australia... and tantalizing Teresa Palmer
Summary: 4 Stars
I picked up "December Boys" for two reasons: I like (non-raunchy) coming-of-age flicks and the fact that it takes place on the Southern coast of Australia (atually it was shot on Kangaroo Island, part of South Australia). As for Daniel Radcliffe, the star of the popular Harry Potter films, I've never seen him in a movie before and have zero interest in him or Potter.
THE STORY: Four boys from an Outback Catholic orphanage get to celebrate their December birthdays by taking a Christmas holiday on the coast. They discover that a young childless couple are interested in adopting one of them, which creates a bit of rivalry, although the oldest one (Radcliffe) could care less and spends his time learning about girls and romance. Their time at the coast becomes a cornerstone experience as they ultimately discover that they themselves are a family.
I should first emphasize that, unless you're Australian, you'll have to utilize the English subtitles to understand the nigh-unintelligible Australian dialect. If you fail to do this you'll only comprehend about half the dialogue and the story will be lost on you. No kidding.
WHAT DOESN'T WORK: I just saw the film last night and I only remember two of the boys -- Maps and Misty. The others might as well be phantoms. Although the plot is interesting, the story as-played-out is not very compelling (although the epilogue is slightly moving). Scenes come and go with largely ill-defined characters and very little dialogue or explanation. This is definitely a picture where you'll have to read inbetween the lines to appreciate (which makes it good for repeat-viewings).
WHAT WORKS: The Kangaroo Island locations are fabulous, especially the high shots of Remarkable Rocks in Finders Chase National Park.
The picture really comes alive when Teresa Palmer, who plays femme fatale Lucy, is on screen. The dvd cover is deceiving in that Teresa looks to be about 12 years-old. Actually she was 20 during filming and plays an about-16 girl in the story with curvy legs from here to New York. Lucy' scenes with Maps are the highlight of the picture (not at all "awkward" as another reviewer contends). Lucy is aware of her tantalizing feminine powers and skillfully utilizes them to bewitch Maps with her love spell.
In addition to the Remarkable Rocks and Lucy, highlights include a secret cave high up on the rocks, a wild black horse who seems to fish, an Evel Knieval-type character who may not be as "Fearless" as he lets on, a colossal fish named Henry and the cantankerous old man fascinated by it.
The dvd feature about 10-minutes of deleted scenes that should have never been deleted. Make sure you catch 'em as they help explain the story better.
BOTTOM LINE: Although the story is merely okay as far as captivating and moving cinema goes, the highlights noted above compel me to give "December Boys" a 4/5 Star rating (or grade of "B"), in particular the scenic rocks/coast and Lucy.
If you like Teresa Palmer in this picture be sure to check her out in "Bedtime Stories" (2008), "Restraint" (2008) and "The Grudge 2" (2006).
Movie Review: Boiled Lamb...
Summary: 4 Stars
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.