Review of The Boys Are Back (2009) by Jk F — 24 Jan 2010

I had the rare pleasure of going into this movie with no knowledge of it at all apart from what was on the poster. I've never seen Shine (although I'm eternally grateful to that movie for introducing the superb Geoffrey Rush to the big leagues) and although Snow Falling On Cedars may have been a little middle of the road in some respects, it did have remarkable cinematography on its side.

The Boys Are Back has something similar; one of the most impressive visual styles of any movie since The Diving Bell & The Butterfly. This aesthetic wasn't just a random vacuous pleasure; the lighting and the blocking of every shot related precisely to some aspect of the narrative or characters' journeys.

The acting was superb; the (in some hands) very mundane story was elevated by actors who displayed everything the characters were going through. The characters meanwhile were dimensionalised sufficiently by the script (presumably with the aid of the credited memoir) to come across as completely credible.

Stories about family relationships are incredibly difficult to pull off, particularly since much familial communication isn't verbal and often particularly difficult to articulate. The Boys Are Back was more than up to the task, feeling much more heartfelt and sincere than other films of this genre.

It wasn't quite an out and out classic, but a thoroughly worthwhile movie.