Review of The Black Balloon (2008) by Luke P — 25 Jan 2015

A stunning coming-of-age film from director Elissa Down in which fifteen-year-old Thomas Mollison (a flawless Rhys Wakefield) must settle into a new home and school. The backdrop to this is made up of Thomas' family, an assortment of quirky characters that entail his heavily pregnant mother Maggie (the always outstanding Toni Collette) and father Simon (a wonderful turn from Erik Thomson), who seemingly takes advice from his teddy bear. But adding the most anxiety to Thomas' existence is his older brother, Charlie (a career-defining Luke Ford); he's autistic and has Attention Deficit Disorder. Needless to say, the household is filled with tension, and like a balloon about to pop, this tension is felt by the viewer. It's moments such as these that the cast rise to the occasion and it's under Down's taught direction that 'The Black Balloon' really comes together. Counteracting moments of intensity is the tender blossoming romance between Thomas and the guileless Jackie (the lovely Gemma Ward), his classmate and fellow lifesaver-in-training.

Overall, the structure of the piece is textbook stuff and it ends in a way that an audience who invests in such a story deserves, but the true strength of 'The Black Balloon' is that it is a testament to the uncompromising power of unconditional parental love and the bond between siblings. Charlie's school performance also presents the aesthetic similarities between those with and without autism; a powerful message presented with childlike innocence. Quite simply, a gem of a coming-of-age story that shines brighter than most of its contemporaries.