Clive Owen was spared the role of James Bond. And “The Boys are Back” is an example of why we are all the better for it.
Sure, Daniel Craig wears James Bond’s attire well. But Owen is the more agile actor.
In this story of a father left single and clueless by loss, he plays sportswriter Joe Warr.
Directed by Scott Hicks, the film is based on Simon Carr’s memoir about losing his wife to cancer and raising his sons.
It’s not that the Aussie journalist is a boy, exactly. But he’s not even a part-time caretaker to his son when wife Katy (Laura Fraser) dies. There is a reason why he reads Peter Pan to 6-year-old Artie. (Carr christened his pack of three “the lost boys.”)
In the wake of Katy’s death, wildness ensues. In every corner, on every surface are signs of a homestead in disarray. There’s also love — and Joe’s too-constant impulse to say “yes.”
“The Boys Are Back” is about being unmoored in ways that are painful, but also exhilarating. The film affirms the unruly, but also acknowledges the necessity of taming influences.
Like its lead, “The Boys Are Back” is better than sturdy. It’s sentimental, but muscular. There’s mirth amid the fury wrought by grief.
There’s heartache in the details about families. An early scene of Joe and his mother-in-law (Julia Blake) reminds audiences just how lonesome and personal loss can be.
George MacKay does a touching job as Harry, Joe’s son from his first marriage, the one he wrecked when he got Katy pregnant. Joe’s “just say yes” ethic would seem the right kind of permissiveness for a teen, but when Harry arrives from London, it proves otherwise.
Hicks gets a vibrant performance from mop-headed newcomer Nicholas McAnulty. By turns sweet, nearly catatonic, then defiant, Artie misses his mom terribly. Death, like so many of the big-ticket items, does and does not make sense to his wee perspective.
There’s one other bloke whose name is worth committing to memory: cinematographer Greig Fraser. His lovely handiwork can also be seen in Jane Campion’s “Bright Star.”
Here, his lens moves between a clear-eyed appreciation of southern Australia’s glories and a gentle knowledge of bodies in motion and emotional.
Directed by Scott Hicks; written by Allan Cubitt; from the memoir by Simon Carr; photography by Greig Fraser. Starring Clive Owen, Emma Booth, Laura Fraser, George Mackay and Nicholas McAnulty. Rated PG-13 for some sexual language and thematic elements. 1 hour, 40 minutes. Opens today at the Esquire Theatre.
