From today's Oregonian....
Daniel Radcliffe is branching out. In "December Boys," cinema's Harry Potter doesn't play a moody orphan living in a school controlled by strict wizards; instead, he plays a moody orphan living in a school controlled by strict nuns.
Though he does go to the beach this time. And smokes cigarettes. And plays a supporting role.
"Boys" is adapted from Michael Noonan's novel, and it's actually a sweet-hearted, low-key little period piece about four Australian orphans (Radcliffe, Lee Cormie, Christian Byers and James Fraser) sent to "holiday" in a beachfront micro-village in the '60s. There's some mild tension as the lads compete to be adopted by the local motorcycle daredevil (Sullivan Stapleton) and his gorgeous French wife (Victoria Hill). But the movie really works best in its middle section, as the boys scamper about in a nostalgic dreamscape of wind-blasted rocks, crumbling shacks, big fish, loveable eccentrics and beautiful women (and hallucinated cartwheeling nuns).
The film sort of loses its touch when it gets "dramatic" toward the end -- it's the type of flick where the sky gets overcast when everyone is sad -- but it's hard to argue with the movie's general good spirits.
_____
B-minus; 105 minutes; rated PG-13 for sexual content, nudity, underage drinking and smoking.
'December Boys' (The Oregonian, Sept. 28, 2007)
Comments