This indie gem marks the arrival of Oscar season. McAnulty and Mackay give very natural performances that are real and genuine.
Comment
10/10/09
The Boys Are Back (2009)
72
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:81
Fresh:58
Rotten:23
Average Rating:6.4/10
Consensus: Great performances by Clive Owen and The Boys save this melodrama from entering into the sappy territory it might have in less competent hands.
Rated: PG-13 [See Full Rating]
Genre: Comedies
Theatrical Release:Sep 25, 2009 Limited
Box Office: $783,013
Synopsis: Inspired by a true story, THE BOYS ARE BACK is a deeply moving, wryly confessional tale of fatherhood, that intimately evokes both the fragility and wonders of family life. It follows a witty,... [More]
Starring: Clive Owen, Laura Fraser, Nicholas Macanulty, Julia Blake
Director: Scott Hicks
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Reviews for The Boys Are Back
Much like its lead character, the film lacks the discipline to always do what's best.
10/09/09
Hicks' rambling pacing and Cubitt's routine approach to the story prevent 'The Boys Are Back' from reaching its potential.
10/09/09
A classy, intelligent, low-key affair and a fine reminder of what's really essential to most lives: family.
10/09/09
... flirts dangerously around the outskirts of melodrama.
10/09/09
The Boys Are Back is a poignant and rowdy celebration of a broken family dealing with grief and drastic change. It has a lame title and a rambling story, but it also has an outstanding performance by Clive Owen and beautiful Australian scenery.
10/09/09
It manages to veer from touching to humorous (Warr has some rather unconventional parenting techniques) without being overly mawkish, and the sumptuous cinematography by Greig Fraser is perhaps the best commercial ever for South Australia.
10/09/09
The characters' clumsy emotional growth shows us there's hope even for a stumbling father and two sons groping toward peace.
10/09/09
Director Hicks keeps the cliches under control in this treacly tale of a man struggling to be a single father.
10/09/09
...reduces the complexities of human relationships to a series of aphorisms and sitcom-like scenes, each of which is carefully designed to teach a lesson or establish a plot point.
10/09/09
Lessons are learned, tears are shed and apologies are accepted before it's all over, but humor and humanity keep The Boys Are Back from being a cloying mess.
10/09/09
The Boys Are Back is based on a true story, and not in a good way. It's obviously true; otherwise why would anyone think it's worth telling a story so trivial?
10/09/09
Top CriticAt first, the Australian Boys seems to be one of those annoying, isn't-it-noble-how-the-single-dad-keeps-it-together movies, but it's more interesting than that.
10/09/09
Has there been a better film about single fatherhood than The Boys Are Back? None that I recall.
10/08/09
The boys are great, and the relationship between brothers who have been thrown together because they share the same absentee father is the film's truest, sweetest element.
10/08/09
Relationships -- between men and women, fathers and sons -- are more complicated in real life, and The Boys Are Back deftly acknowledges that fact.
10/08/09
A restrained and surprisingly genuine-feeling work from Hicks, who gets the impassively handsome Owen to contribute one of his more expressive performances.
10/08/09
Owen, who doesn't get many roles like this but should be signed for more, brings a compelling and sturdy realism to Joe, making him likable but not insufferable.
10/08/09
For the most part it's a tearjerker that works...testimony to the good judgment--and good taste--of everyone involved.
10/06/09
An impressive performance from Clive Owen as a single dad who tries to connect emotionally with his two sons and learn from his mistakes.
10/02/09
Latest News for The Boys Are Back
November 09, 2009:
Scott Hicks Talks The Boys Are Back
RT talks to director Scott Hicks as his latest film, 'The Boys Are Back', starring Clive Owen, opens in Australian cinemas. More...
September 24, 2009:
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