Review of Boy (2010) by Grant S — 17 Mar 2018
Simple yet warm and funny movie.
1984. An 11-year old boy, known simply as Boy, lives with his grandmother, brother and four cousins on a farm in rural New Zealand. His mother is dead and his father, Alamein, is in jail. Then Alamein escapes from jail and heads back home, arriving, with two sidekicks, when the grandmother is out for a few days. Boy is grateful for an opportunity to bond with his father, but all Alamein is there for is to find the stolen money he buried...
Simple yet warm and funny movie. The second movie directed by Taika Waititi, who went on to direct What We Do In The Shadows, Hunt For The Wilderpeople and Thor: Ragnarok.
Starts very well. Very funny in the set-up phase with some interesting characters and relationships and room for great plot and character development. Great scenery and cinematography.
The second act continues the good work, initially, and we seem headed for a greatly profound and emotional climax. However, from a point the movie seems to falter, lose direction and drift. It's not dull or unengaging, just directionless and fairly disappointing after the great start.
The ending is rather poignant, but still feels incomplete.
Overall: very good, largely due to the humour and warmth, but had the potential to be brilliant.
One thing: stick around for the end-credits. The Haka version of Michael Jackson's Thriller is brilliant, and funny.
This review of Boy (2010) was written by Grant S on 17 Mar 2018.
Boy has generally received positive reviews.
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