The Boys Are Back

The Boys Are Back

Starring: Clive Owen, Laura Fraser, George MacKay, Emma Booth, Nicholas McAnulty

Directed by: Scott Hicks

Reviewed by: Conor Flynn







True Stories are branded about like nobodies business these days in film. I have issues reviewing any true story, in the sense that they have to be judged harder than fictional work. The reason for this is very simple; there ought to be something exceptional in the story for it to be worthy of the big screen treatment, where you have to pay quite a bit to see it in a cinema, otherwise it should be relegated to television. That’s not to say that all TV movies are bad, far from it. The BBC have provided some of the best TV movies down through the years, pretty much anything directed by the late Alan Clarke comes speedily to mind. It shouldn’t come as a big surprise to learn that The Boys Are Back is a BBC production, but is it a film more suited to TV than cinema?

Clive Owen plays Joe Warr, a sports journalist who has fallen on hard times. His wife Katey is diagnosed with cancer which eventually takes her life. This sees Joe struggle to make ends meet both with his career and parenthood. Matters only worsen with his choice of parenting where he allows his children to do what they want whenever they want. Complications arise when Joe leaves the kids at home alone...

The Boys Are Back is held together by strong performances. Clive Owen is probably at his most restrained in an appealing role which doesn’t ask him to constantly furrow his brow or grind his teeth down. He is ably supported by a fine cast, most notably by (at the time of filming) six year old Nicholas McAnulty. He plays Joe’s youngest son with an incredible amount of unpredictability which makes for engaging viewing.

Sadly the film disappoints as well as delights. The biggest problem with the film as a whole is that it feels too prosaic and ordinary. It has a true story that is a little too true to life and is all the more mundane for it. Things aren’t helped when you realise that the film leads up to a predictable ending. Director Scott Hicks doesn’t make much use of Australia’s beautiful scenery, instead opting to shoot indoors or, whenever outside, in pitch darkness. It makes for an unnecessarily claustrophobic feel.

The Boys Are Back will appeal to anyone in an undemanding mood. It’s held together by strong performances, but the story and direction are more suited for television than your local multiplex.