Clive Owen Movie:

Editorial Review:
Based on a semi-autobiographical novel by Simon Carr, the touching The Boys Are Back stars Clive Owen as Australian sportswriter Joe Warr. Joe's world crashes down on him when his wife (Laura Fraser) dies of inoperable cancer, leaving him a single parent with one very young son, Artie (Nicholas McAnulty), and another, Harry (George MacKay), a teenager from a previous marriage. The events that follow Joe's loss are largely predictable, yet are well worth seeing on the strength of Owen's performance as an overnight widower and conflicted family man. There is the inevitable competition for his attention between home and the newspaper where he works. There are tensions with his grieving in-laws, whom he needs for support while also having to lay down clear boundaries. There is subtle awareness of other women in the world, now that Joe is single again. Trying to be all things for all people just seems to make everyone upset with Joe, yet he carries on, trying to be positive with the kids but falling on his face regularly.

There is a tidiness to The Boys are Back that undercuts any chance of surprising a viewer. A scene where Joe reads aloud from one of his sports columns, for instance, is gratuitously written into the script just to be sure the audience really knows what he does and why he's famous for it. Director Scott Hicks (Shine) tries to balance emotional truth with a stodgy, art-house quality, sacrificing grit in the process. Things loosen up when the action briefly shifts to England, but for the most part The Boys Are Back is solely memorable for its performances. --Tom Keogh

The Boys Are Back [Blu-ray] Reviews:
A chic flick for guys
2009-12-06 - The essence of THE BOYS ARE BACK is "fatherhood", i.e. what it means to be a Dad. It's an absolutely lovely film absolutely worth seeing.

Joe Warr (Clive Owen) suddenly finds himself a single father when his young wife Katy (Laura Fraser) precipitously dies of intestinal cancer. Joe, the lead and oft-on-the-road sportswriter for Melbourne's major newspaper, must now connect with his six-year old son Artie (Nicholas McAnulty). Coming to visit from England is his 14-year old son from a previous marriage, Harry (George MacKay), whom Joe pretty much abandoned to his first wife years before on their divorce.

THE BOYS ARE BACK is about male bonding - father with motherless son, father with fatherless son, brother with half-brother. In this clubhouse, the women, whether it be Joe's mother-in-law Barbara (Julia Blake) or potential new significant-other Laura (Emma Booth), are almost intruders.

Filmed mostly on Australia's striking south coast and with a soundtrack featuring haunting songs by Iceland's Sigur Rós, this film contains what is perhaps Clive Owen's finest and most nuanced performance to date. I wouldn't be surprised if Owen is nominated for an Oscar for this role, which is the best by a male actor I've seen in 2009.

Too often, I think, the societal presumption is that children of marriages broken by death or divorce are better off with mothers, that fathers are somehow less loving and less skilled at parenting. At least in this must-see film, that is emphatically not the case.

I left the screening keen on THE BOYS ARE BACK more than I can adequately express.

Great Performances Lift An Ordinary Story
2009-11-05 - "The Boys Are Back", the new film directed by Scott Hicks ("Shine"), is a film that is "Based on a True Story". But as you watch it, you may ask yourself "What is so remarkable about this story that it warrants the big screen treatment?" In "Shine", we met an extraordinarily interesting man who we wanted to learn more about. A lot more. And Geoffrey Rush made the film all the better with his mesmerizing, star marking performance.

As you watch "Boys", you will probably answer the question I asked before with 'Nothing'.

"The Boys are Back" is the pretty common story of Joe Warr (Clive Owen), a British sportswriter who now lives and works in Australia, writing about sports for an Australian newspaper. He moved to Australia because he fell in love with his current wife and they had a child. Now a single parent, Joe finds himself trying to adapt to caring for his young son (played by Nicholas McAnulty). After a bit of time mourning and learning to care for his young son, he gets a call from his older son, Harry (George MacKay) who lives in England, with his mom, Joe's first wife. He wants to come and visit. Initially, Joe is a bit amazed at the timing, but realizes he and his older son must have some needs that aren't being met. Joe soon finds himself the adult in a household gone mad, but this is how he prefers it; there are few rules and even less discipline and he hopes this will allow for the ultimate amount of bonding, healing and love. There are complications, but these only serve to push everyone closer together.

There is really nothing remarkable about the story behind "The Boys Are Back"; single father has to adjust and begin caring for his two sons. In fact, if the parent were a mom, this would make the perfect material for a Lifetime Channel movie. A bad Lifetime Channel movie. But because the director is Scott Hicks and he is working with Clive Owen, an actor who is clearly at the top of his game, and two young actors who are really quite amazing, the film becomes extraordinary and moving and memorable.

Owen makes the role of Joe Warr seem effortless, as though he is a British ex-pat living in Australia, working for a major newspaper as a sports writer. It all starts with the few scenes we watch between Joe and his wife. Joe is clearly in love and misses every moment he is away. It is even more shocking for us as we watch him react to her suddenly dropping to the floor and our heartbreaks as Joe cares for his ailing wife. Owen is playing a fairly common guy so it seems even more remarkable that he is able to make the performance seem so good. As he watches his wife die, he realizes his young son may need some help coping, but the little guy seems like any other young kid; unaware of the problem and the severity of what is going on.

As Owen portrays this character, we understand his struggles and the problems he is experiencing. He receives a call from his first son, who wants to come and visit from England. The look on Joe's face says it all. This is not a good time and he really wants to tell him that, but how do you tell your son that? So, he agrees to the visit. Soon, Joe and Artie arrive at the airport to meet Henry.

As soon as Henry arrives, he instantly realizes there is a certain distance between them and is unsure how to close this. He decides to let everything be a little more natural and hopes the bonding will come with time.

As Joe deals with this situation, trying to deal with his own grief while trying to help Artie deal with the death of his mom, trying to reconnect with his older son, trying to be a dad, he decides to let them do what they want. They run through the house, play, eat what they want when they want, it is heaven for them.

Joe attracts the attention of a single mom and she starts to come over, bringing her daughter to play with Artie. While she is attracted to Joe, and admires his parenting style, she can't help but comment about the state of his house (which quickly becomes filthy) and his ability to avoid addressing any sort of disciplinary issues.

These very same qualities serve to alarm Joe's mother-in-law. She completely disapproves of the way he is handling her grandson's upbringing and wants to take him in. Joe flat our refuses.

"The Boys Are Back" is about how Joe deals with his two sons. And Clive Owen is great, but without equally convincing performances from the two sons the film would not work. Thankfully, the two child actors are great.

George McKay plays Henry, Joe's son from his first marriage. As soon as he enters this new household, his eyes open wide, taking in the wild abandon in which Artie, his younger half-brother behaves. It is like he is experiencing true childhood for the first time. He immediately adapts and falls into this life style. As the story continues, we learn he was studying at a strict prep school and we understand what is going on. We understand why he loves this new environment so much.

And Nicholas McAnulty plays Joe's younger son, Artie. From the moment we realize Joe's wife is going to die, Artie continues to run around and play, flying a model airplane as he careens through the house. He is too young to understand what is happening and just does what comes naturally. As his father adjusts with his new life as a full time parent, Artie isn't beyond letting his displeasure known (Joe makes a late trip to the supermarket to get some dinner and we watch Artie standing a few yards away putting because he is hungry) and seems even more frustrated because he can't express his feelings.

The movie is better because Clive Owen goes to great lengths to make his portrayal of new full time dad Joe very convincing, But the two kids playing his sons are equally convincing and help take "The Boys Are Back" to a new level.

There is a lot of Oscar buzz surrounding Owen's performance. And it is richly deserved; he is that good. And because the film basically tells the story of a normal guy coping with a death, the fact it is so memorable is even more remarkable.

Amazing!
2009-11-02 - This moving was amazing. The story was very emotional and very touching. The acting was superb. The younger sons performance was charming. The older son (played by George MacKay) was flawless. He was great. I recommend this to anyone who likes this type of movie. And I definately recommend you purchase it upon its release!

Amazing
2009-11-02 - This moving was amazing. The story was very emotional and very touching. The acting was superb. The younger sons performance was charming. The older son (played by George MacKay) was flawless. He was great. I recommend this to anyone who likes this type of movie. And I definately recommend you purchase it upon its release!

What the ...?
2009-10-12 - In 1994, after Simon Carr's wife succumbed to a long battle with cancer, the writer was left alone to raise their 5 year-old son. The duo was soon joined by Simon's 11-year old boy from a previous marriage. The author described the trials and tribulations of his single fatherhood in a novel, The Boys Are Back in Town. I am purposefully saying "HIS single fatherhood" as I cannot imagine other fathers who would wish to emulate Carr's child rearing methods. In Carr's own words, he tried to run the house responsibly; but, that required rules; and rules required effort and persistence. Thus, he came up with one overriding rule of "Just Say YES". It is clear (well, perhaps not to Carr), that in most countries his hijinx, such as sitting his progeny on the hood of an SUV and then driving at full speed, would have warranted an investigation by child protective services. But, I am getting ahead of myself...

I was rather excited by the prospect of seeing the film, an adaptation of Carr's biographical tale with Clive Owen as Joe, the Father. It is an Australian low budget creation with top notch production values. Away from the glitter of Hollywood, Owen's talent tends to shine. I am still in awe of his early performances in Croupier and the Second Sight series. As expected, Owen earns his paycheck with a five star portrayal of the grief stricken husband. The two child actors who play his sons (George MacKey and Nicolas McAnulty) are superbly gifted as well. But, as the story unfolds, one begins to see a growing schism between the sympathy the characters demand of us and the provided justification for it. It is difficult to feel sympathy for a man who, despite over a decade of biological fatherhood, knows precious little about his sons and repeatedly ignores his older son's attempts at meaningful communication. It is difficult to feel sympathy for a man who, when faced with career demands, flies out of town, leaving his two boys home alone, in a rural area, in a country foreign to the elder one. Owen's acting skill saves Joe from appearing directly as selfish and immature. However, how can we possibly admire the hero's parenting skills, as we watch him place his 5-year old at the wheel of the family SUV, putting in danger not only their own lives, but also the lives of those with whom they are sharing the road? The fact that no one dies or ends up severely injured seems to be purely accidental.

The Boys Are Back has everything going on for it; except for the story... Great shame! I suggest you see the film anyway, for the acting performances of the three leads. Yes, they are that good! Make sure though to remember that this is a leisurely paced movie. Pick the right day, when your mood can be supportive of a syrup sweet, but highly illogical family drama.