Review of About a Boy (2002) by Bethany E — 18 Dec 2014

Wow... Hugh Grant should have gotten an Oscar for this, I've always liked him and thought he was great but wow... He's absolutely brilliant in this. They really messed up the Oscars in 2002. That was the year Adaptation came out as well, so Nic and Hugh should have been tied for Best Actor and both films should have been tied for Best Adapted Screenplay, I can't understand why The Pianist won what it did, it might have only won 3 things, thankfully, but it was boring and Walken should have won for Best Supporting Actor for the second time but I'm digressing a little. Why is the audience score so low? I don't understand! About a Boy is a fantastic, charming and witty film that features an excellent performance by Hugh Grant and a fantastic lead role debut for Nicholas Hoult.

I really like how the film started, it starts off brilliantly and just goes right into the story and doesn't waste any time. The story in this film is absolutely outstanding and the way it develops is brilliant and some of the best development I've seen, it gets you emotionally invested but never manipulates the audience as it all feels very, very real; it's excellent. It's a dramedy and the Weitz's totally nail the right balance between comedy and drama, one minute you'll be laughing and the next you'll be on the edge of your seat and never once did it feel like a jarring tonal shift; I love it.

Like I've already said, the acting in this is excellent. Hugh Grant does some of his best work and really fits the character perfectly, he has great emotion and great delivery, he looks the part and his character has a real and believable arc, it's rewarding to watch. I've already talked about the Oscars but it baffles me how he was ignored for at least a BAFTA for this, it's strange. I'm glad that Brad Pitt decided not to take the lead role, not because I don't like him but after seeing the film I can't see anyone doing a better job, but if he did do it we wouldn't have anyone else to compare it to because we wouldn't know any different but he still appears in one way or another. Nicholas Hoult does a brilliant job and does fantastically well, he jokes at the start about not being good at drama and talks about another child actor and I know that's just his character saying that but it's funny to hear. Toni Collette is once again brilliant and as usual gets snubbed for an award pretty much everytime.

The narration for both the lead characters is great and it adds a lot to the film, especially the funny scenes where they think something different to what they say. I like the sideswipe transitions, they were fitting and felt unbelievably English for some reason. The film also has a good soundtrack. And the whole film leads up to a fantastic ending that made me really happy, even if Will has to keep it going but it stays true to the character, which I liked. I actually thought the song that Marcus would do at the end would be the one he was listening to on the CD and get everyone in the audience cheering for him but I'm glad the film developed the way it did. Also, one of the producers is Robert De Niro, and that's cool.

About a Boy is an excellent film, it has a smart script, fantastic acting and its feel good but never manipulates the audience and the emotions that it generates are totally, wholeheartedly earned.