Millions (2004)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Danny Boyle

Writer:

Frank Cottrell Boyce (written by)

Release Date:

8 April 2005 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | Family

Tagline:

Can anyone be truly good?

Plot:

Ethics, being human and the soul all come to the forefront on this masterly-written, directed and acted, fun, very rare film when a 7-year old finds a bag of Pounds with a few days to spend before the currency is switched to Euros and learns what we are really made of.

Plot Keywords:

Euro | Money | Train | Saint | Robbery

Awards:

1 win & 7 nominations

Cast

Alex Etel	...	Damian
Lewis McGibbon	...	Anthony
James Nesbitt	...	Ronnie
Daisy Donovan	...	Dorothy
Christopher Fulford	...	The Man
Pearce Quigley	...	Community Policeman
Jane Hogarth	...	Mum
Alun Armstrong	...	St Peter
Enzo Cilenti	...	St Francis
Nasser Memarzia	...	St Joseph
Kathryn Pogson	...	St Clare
Harry Kirkham	...	St Nicholas
Cornelius Macarthy	...	Gonzaga
Kolade Agboke	...	Ambrosio
Leslie Phillips	...	Leslie Phillips

MPAA:

Rated PG for thematic elements, language, some peril and mild sensuality. (edited for re-rating)

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

Sweden:7 | Argentina:Atp | Finland:K-7 | Canada:PG | Malaysia:U | South Korea:All | USA:TV-14 (TV rating) | Ireland:12A | Netherlands:AL | Singapore:PG | UK:12A | USA:PG-13 (PCA #40907) | USA:PG (edited version) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Australia:PG | Brazil:Livre

Filming Locations:

East Lancs Steam Railway, Bury, Greater Manchester, England, UK

Company:

Pathé Pictures International

Trivia:

Many of the cutting and shot compositions in the train robbery sequence are intentionally referential to moments in Night Mail (1936) and The Great Train Robbery (1903).

Goofs:

Miscellaneous: Though the film is set around the Christmas holiday, several shots show verdant foliage only likely to be seen in summer. Director Danny Boyle explains the season difference at 30:44 in the DVD commentary and says he was told it looks more like Umbria (sometimes called the green heart of Italy) than Manchester.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Damian Cunningham: [voiceover] The French have said au revoir to the franc, the Germans have said auf wiedersehen to the mark, and the Portuguese have said... whatever to their thing.

Movie Connections:

Features "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" (1998)

Soundtrack:

Brazil

Shallow Grave through the eyes of children

Tonight's screening of Danny Boyle's Millions at the Toronto International Film Festival was the film's world premiere. Boyle was in attendance along with the two young stars of the film, and he introduced what obviously is a project that he feels very dear about.

Two young brothers in Manchester come across a gym bag overflowing with cash, British pounds, days before the bank of England switches over to the Euro.

Damian (Alex Etel) is a young philanthropist who spends his time learning (and daydreaming) about the saints. He believes the money, which seems to have fallen from the heavens, is a gift from God and wants to use the money to help the poor, while his older brother Anthony (Lewis McGibbon) is a hot-blooded capitalist who is already thinking of exchange rates, inflation, and the cost of property. He uses the money to buy the affection of his new classmates.

There are obvious parallels to be drawn with Boyle's first film Shallow Grave, (reviewed here) which also tells the story of a group of friends who find a mysterious surplus of cash, and the morals of what to do with it.

Millions, however, is like a feel-good retelling of Shallow Grave through the eyes of children. It's sweet without being saccharine, and it's altogether enjoyable. I was incredibly refreshed to see a movie with a situation like this not make the characters look bad for wanting to keep money that isn't theirs. This isn't a film that chastises the greedy or denounces the almighty dollar; it's one that celebrates the chance to make a difference in one's own life, and the lives of others.

I particularly enjoyed the fantasy elements in which Damian seeks advice from various saints who appear to him in visions that blur the line between imagination and spiritual visitation.

Screened in the gorgeously ornate Elgin theatre, the film garnered a standing ovation, which may only have been for the benefit the two young stars of the film, but I couldn't help but get a little emotional to see the two of them, standing beside their director and surrounded by audience members, cry at the outburst of love and applause from a room full of strangers after such a tender and affectionate movie.