Sunday, September 22, 2013

Son of Rambow (2007)


4 comments:

  1. TOPIC: Film Review: Son of Rambow

    The in 2007 produced film 'Son of Rambow' takes part at a school in the early 80's of England. The leading roles in this by Garth Jennings (The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy) directed dramatic comedy play Bill Milner and Will Poulter.

    The movie starts where it ends: at a cinema. While eleven or twelve year old Will Proudfoot (Bill Milner) has to read out loud of the Bible in front of the Plymouth Brethren, a religious group that forbids watching movies and listening to pop music, Lee Carter (Will Poulter) is taking pirate copies of 'First Blood', the first of the four Rambo-movies starring Sylvester Stallone.
    They both meet for the first time at school, when Will is sent out of the class room because the teacher is showing a TV documentary, which Will isn't allowed to watch. While the creative Will doodles into his note book, a door opens and the mischievous Lee is pushed out into the corridor by an angry teacher. As the teacher is gone, he starts playing with a bouncing ball. Will and Lee get into a fight, when he grabs Will's note book and doesn't want to give it back to him. A goldfish bowl falls to the ground and both of them are sent to the head master.
    While waiting the rebellious Lee Carter scares naive Will by telling him, they would get tortured for what happened. He offers him to take all the fault on him, if Will gives him his watch.
    Even though the watch is holy to Will because it belonged to his dead father, he gives it to Lee, scared by the thought of being tortured.
    Lee, whose mother and her lover are never home, pretends that his leg hurts in front of Will. Feeling bad for him, Will becomes Lee's chauffeur, transporting him in a bike trailer.
    At Lee's house which includes an old peoples nursery, Will gets to watch the pirate copies of 'First Blood'. When Lawrence (Ed Westwick), Lee's older brother, and his friends come home it turns out that on the one hand Lee is treatend badly by them and on the other hand he looks up to Lawrence. It's Lawrence's birthday so Lee gives him Will's father's watch as a present.
    The pirate copies Lee is making are recorded by his brother's camera which he also uses to compete at BBC's Screen Test by making an amateur film. Will, still feeling guilty about Lee getting tortured, agrees with enthusiasm on being his stunt man.
    Will is living with his pious mother (Jessica Hynes), his little sister and his dement grandmother in a small house. Sometimes Joshua (Neil Dudgeon), a member of the Plymouth Brethren, comes over to eat dinner with them. Will really doesn't like him, as the religious elder sees himself as Will's step father, being strict to him and trying to keep Will 'on the right path'.
    Making the movie gives Will, who always has to invent excuses for not going to church, the feeling of freedom, starting to question the narrow view of the Plymouth Brethren.
    For Lee it's giving purpose to his chaotic life. After saving Will from drowning, both become blood brothers and friends. They have lots of fun performing several stunts, dressing up as the son of Rambo (Will) and Colonel Trautman (Lee) and giving the film some of Will's ideas he drew into his notebook, for example a flying dog.

    Will and Lee also include other people in their little film, for example an old patient from the nursing home (Eric Sykes) and also other pupils, male and female, take part in the production.
    The most noticeable of the supporting actors is Didier (Jules Sitruk), a visiting French student taking part in the exchange program with Will's and Lee's school. The self confident Didier, who wants to become an actor, is flashily-dressed with his red boots as his trademark. The young boys idolise him and the older girls are standing in a row to learn how to kiss in the French way. Didier plays the co-role 'The Wolf', and soon Lee, who doesn't like Didier, feels as if the film isn't his own anymore and a sour rivalry begins.

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  2. In my opinion both William “Bill” Milner and William Poulter did a great job acting. They represent their roles as the naive, good Will and the mischievous, cheeky Lee quite authentic. Bill Milner was nominated for the British Independent Film Award for Most Promising Newcomer and together with Will Poulter for the Young Artist Award for Best Performance in an International Feature Film in the category Leading Young Performers.

    I also really like the film photography, for example when Will puts his broken shoes onto the counter of the shoe repairman or when Didier steps out of the bus and the camera leads from his shoes up to his huge sun glasses. The special effects (the doodle) given to creative Will's perspective makes it possible to see the world through this young boy's eyes and makes it more colorful and vivid.

    Even though Son of Rambow gets quite serious for a little while, the movie doesn't stop being funny. It's a great story of two unlike boys becoming friends, both having their own problems at home they have to deal with. By making that short movie, they almost forget their trouble.
    I think the end is very nicely done, it cheered me up and made me really happy.
    I'll give the film 9 out of 10 points and recommend it for a nice family evening or to younger boys who love small adventures. And of course to everyone else.

    (969 words)
    LG

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  3. Evaluation of the Review

    I agree to LG that the film is well done. Not only the film photography is convenient. Also the music had been chosen very suitably. The impromptu costumes which both are carrying in their film are realistic and proper. The common film connects the different boys and also allowed a small insight into another religion. Although the cover suggests on a children's film the action is interesting and the young actors are very gifted. I would give to the film 9 of 10 points too and recommend it any time.
    The summary is very good and clearly written. The single action ropes are well shown and represented by structured heels.

    RS
    (114 words)

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  4. LG, I totally agree on you that Bill Milner and William Poulter have played their part great. Today they are still successful in acting in movies and TV series.
    Even though the film was funny in some parts, it made me laugh rarely, however I had to smile very often. 6 years ago, as a child, I might have found it more entertaining. The target group are probably children from 6 to 14 years and their parents, which you see reflected in the humor.
    “Son of Rambow“ is full of ideas and imagination. The set is lovingly designed and the music fits good in the situations. The story the movie tells is rousing and it didn‘t get boring, but it also didn‘t blow me away.
    My rating would be 7/10 points.

    (131 words)
    AK

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