The Boys Are Back (2009)

Don't listen to the negative reviews

Captivating movie !

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

This movie had its moments, but overall I didn't care for it. I love Clive Owen and sympathized with his character up to a point, but I found his dying wife too perfect and quite unlikeable, especially after their back story was revealed. His character seems stunned and disbelieving that he could be suffering such misfortune, never mind that he caused so much misfortune to those from his past. He had every excuse for himself and his actions but his older son had his number (his younger son was just annoying.) I did like that he was finally called to account for some of his crappier decisions, and that he was able to make at least some amends.

This movie was a surprise to me (in a good way) as I'd never heard of it before and only bothered with it because I saw Clive Owen's name attached. Now though I can't understand how it's gone under the wire and remained so underrated. The performances are just fantastic, particularly from the boy playing Owens youngest son Artie (Nicholas McAnulty). He is amazing, acting like a real kid not a Hollywood version, complete with temper tantrums and utter brattiness that all parents will appreciate yet his grief is at times also absolutely heartbreaking.Filmed in South Australia (and England) the scenery is beautiful and only adds to this honest and well portrayed story of a father trying to cope and carry on following the death of his wife, while raising his two sons in a nonconformist way. This really is a story of fathers and sons as all the women here have lesser roles. Despite the heavy content this still manages to have a few lighter comedic moments. Just a great heartfelt movie. 05.13

If you have read any of my other reviews you will know I like movies about families adjusting to problems, and this one was no exception. The film stars Clive Owen, mainly an action star previously, in a domestic role based on a memoir by Simon Carr, and directed by Scott Hicks, probably best known for "Shine". As others have noted, the story concerns a soon to be widower having to deal with being a father to his 6 year old son, played brilliantly by Nicholas McAnulty, and further into the film, his early teen son from a previous marriage who comes to stay with him in Australia from England. He is played by George Mackay, who outshines everyone including Clive Owen, who received Oscar buzz for his performance. The situations are not that unusual, nor are the happenings. What makes the film more than standard fare are the excellent performances and the literate script and fine direction. I found the first 30 minutes rather sad and depressing, and even a bit slow, but from the time the older son enters, the movie takes off, and by the end I felt I was watching a great film. Some of the reviewers complained that it wasn't believable, but it is based on true events from a memoir. Others may have been expecting more "action", and dislike movies about relatively ordinary people facing the ordinary problems that so many of us may encounter, with no easy solutions. Had the movie been a little tighter in its editing, particularly in the early scenes, I would have given it a 10, but it is definitely a must-see if you, like me, find the majority of Hollywood mass entertainment movies a waste of time, and prefer heartfelt honest reality, rather than a lot of violence, raunchiness, and profanity.

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.