The Boys Are Back (2009)

Director:

Scott Hicks

Writers:

Simon Carr (novel)
Allan Cubitt (adaptation)

Release Date:

12 November 2009 (Australia)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

A sports writer becomes a single parent in tragic circumstances.

Plot Keywords:

Based On A True Story

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

  (Credited cast)

Clive Owen	...	Joe Warr
Laura Fraser	...	Katy Warr
George MacKay	...	Harry Warr
Emma Booth	...	Laura
Emma Lung	...	Mia
Natasha Little	...	Flick
Julia Blake	...	Barbara
Nicholas McAnulty	...	Artie Warr
Steven Robertson	...	School Housemaster
Erik Thomson	...	Digby
Chris Haywood	...	Tom
Adam Morgan	...	Journalist
Klayton Stainer	...	Beach Boy
Alexandra Schepisi	...	Mother

Also Known As:

The Boys Are Back in Town (Australia) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some sexual language and thematic elements.

Runtime:

Canada:104 min (Toronto International Film Festival) | USA:104 min | UK:100 min (PAL DVD)

Country:

Australia | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:PG-13 (certificate #45455) | Canada:PG (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) | Ireland:12A | Australia:M | UK:12A | Singapore:NC-16

Filming Locations:

Adelaide Airport, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

Company:

Australian Film Finance Corporation (AFFC)

Trivia:

The nine songs by Sigur Rós in the film were initially used as a temporary score. However, director Scott Hicks felt the music was so perfect for the film that he personally traveled to Iceland to get approval from Sigur Rós to be featured in the film.

Movie Connections:

References Home Alone (1990)

Soundtrack:

Fljótavík

A nice Drama that keeps it real !

Nice film that unfortunately didn't get the chance to perform well at the box office because of an incredible lack of marketing. The film has three connected storyline.You have Joe Warr (Clive Owen) a father who his coping with adjusting his carefree lifestyle for the need of his sons after loosing his wife from Cancer,you then have his son Artie Warr (Nicholas McAnulty) a little boy who don't know how to handle the loss of his mother. Then,you have the 14 year old son,Harry Warr (George MacKay) from a previous marriage who always felt left out by his father and never built up the courage to tell him and the fact that his mother is now pregnant with a new child from another man increase the boy's feeling of being on his own.The father and his two sons learn from each other throughout the film and the father start to built a relationship with his children but the film is not Soppy or cheesy,somehow it find a way to tell this sort of story without going over the top,to make it short this is not a lifetime movie of the week , it's a strong drama with subtle,quiet but very thoughtful performance. Clive Owen gives one of his best performance as a father who doesn't quite know how to handle his newly found responsibility,he gives a very strong yet vulnerable performance. Nicholas McAnulty,the youngest of the cast gives a great performance for such a young actor,he plays a boy who is overwhelmed from keeping his grief locked inside with incredible maturity. But in my opinion the most interesting storyline came from Joe's estranged British son,Harry, played by the very talented George MacKay.The relationship between Harry and his father was very interesting because they truly felt like a father and son who knew nothing about each other and some of the most intense scene came from the two trying to get a feel for each other.One scene that stick in my mind was when a frustrated Joe asked Harry to take the garbage out and after Harry insist that he will do it but later , Joe get angry with Harry who immediately realize that he had upset his father.It's an awkward moment between a father and a son who were never long enough with each other to have that sort of fight before and it ends up with Harry crying and his father running away from having to deal with his oldest son's problem , knowing quite well that the problem was in fact himself.It's theses bravely performed moment that makes this film a pleasure to watch. The only minor problems I have with the film is that some elements that are introduced are not used to the best of their capacity.The relationship between Joe and his Mother in Law is interesting but underused and you feel that much more could have been done with it,the same goes for the relationship between Joe and the mother of one of his youngest son's friend (Emma Booth). Overall this film had a very good Cast and interesting characters and as a Drama it's superior to a lot of films that comes out at the moment. Very recommended. 7.5 out of 10.