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Second Best
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Second Best (1994) More at IMDbPro »

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Second Best (1994) -- Theatrical Preview

Overview

User Rating:
7.0/10   666 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 7% in popularity this week. See rank & trends on IMDbPro.
Director:
Chris Menges
Writers:
David Cook (novel)
David Cook (screenplay)
Contact:
View company contact information for Second Best on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
30 September 1994 (USA) more
Genre:
Drama more
Plot:
Graham Holt is a lonely middle-aged man who runs a postal substation in a small village in England. He decides to adopt a son... more | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
1 win & 2 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(4 articles)
Abba pair unveil brand new songs
 (From digitalspy. 8 May 2009, 2:21 AM, PDT)

Jonas Brothers Are Second Best at Box Office
 (From TVGuide.com - Breaking News. 2 March 2009, 7:31 AM, PST)

User Comments:
First Greatest Father-Son Love Story Ever Shown more

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

William Hurt ... Graham Holt
Nathan Yapp ... Jimmy
Keith Allen ... John
Chris Cleary Miles ... James
Doris Irving ... Adoption Shop Volunteer
James Warrior ... Senior Social Worker

Jane Horrocks ... Debbie
Alfred Lynch ... Edward
Rachel Freeman ... Elsie
Gus Troakes ... Jeffo
Mossie Smith ... Lynn
Martin Troakes ... Colin

Shaun Dingwall ... Graham, age 20
Paul Wilson ... Colin, age 20

Alan Cumming ... Bernard
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Additional Details

Runtime:
105 min
Country:
UK | USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Dolby
Company:
Alcor Films more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Last film of Alfred Lynch. more
Quotes:
Graham Holt: They were a devoted couple, they showed it.
Uncle Turpin: You mean she convinced him that she'd go to pieces if he strayed even as far as the end of the garden to do a widdle on his own.
more
Soundtrack:
Saturday Night Forever more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
11 out of 12 people found the following comment useful:-
First Greatest Father-Son Love Story Ever Shown, 17 March 2002
10/10
Author: ricrisci from New York

This is an exquisitely poignant tale of a love-starved, troubled orphan boy and an emotionally incomplete man who has decided to reach out for what he wants most in life: a son. Jamie very much wants to love the kind man who wants to adopt him but is prevented from doing so by the promise he made to his biological father just before dad went to jail: to love him "best in the whole world forever." In what may just be the greatest dramatic performance by a child ever captured on film (surpassing even that of Freddie Bartholomew in "Captains Courageous" who had held that title for that past 60 years), Chris Cleary Miles demonstrates a precocity which makes one wonder if he hasn't already overcome some great tribulation(s?) in his short life in order to give such a compelling performance. Alternately masochistic, loving, violent and affectionate, the range and depth of emotion he portrays are nonpareil. I am still having trouble believing it was only a movie! It is unfortunate that Miles never acted in another movie; on the other hand, when you start at the top you can only go down.

Others have called this William Hurt's greatest role and I would have to agree. While his transformation from the stiff, detached loner to loving father was beautifully written in the book by David Cook, Hurt interprets this flawlessly. In fact you might say the film's brilliance was relatively easy on the heels of Cook's depictions. Nevertheless every scene in the movie is significant and the editing with the multiple flashbacks was excellent. Why this film did not win all kinds of awards is beyond me.

"Second Best" is second best to none in its genre.

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