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Is Anybody There? (2008)

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Top Critics

Average Rating: 6.2/10
Reviews Counted: 112
Fresh: 72 | Rotten: 40

Though Michael Caine gives an excellent performance, Is Anybody There? features a cliche-filled story that ultimately falters.

Average Rating: 6.3/10
Critic Reviews: 24
Fresh: 14 | Rotten: 10

Though Michael Caine gives an excellent performance, Is Anybody There? features a cliche-filled story that ultimately falters.

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Movie Info

Boy A director John Crowley followed up that award-winning film festival favorite with this eerie yet eloquent drama concerning a young boy fascinated by death due to the fact that he lives in the hospice home for the elderly that's owned by his parents. Perhaps due to the morose surroundings in which he was raised, wide-eyed Edward (Son of Rambow star Bill Milner) possesses both an acute sense of death and an obsessive desire to find out what happens after we pass on from this life. These

PG-13, 1 hr. 34 min.

Drama, Comedy

Directed By: Jon Crowley

Written By: Peter Harness

In Theaters: Apr 17, 2009 Wide

On DVD: Nov 17, 2009

Box Office:$2.0M

Big Beach Films

Profoundly (and some would say pleasurably) formulaic, the film possesses scant cinematic energy, relying wholly on the familiar transformation of a grumpy old man into an infectiously weepy humanist.

September 1, 2009 Full Review Source: Variety

| Comment

Rob Nelson

Variety

Top Critic

Michael Caine raises this odd-couple comedy to highly agreeable levels.

May 15, 2009 Comment

Michael Rechtshaffen

Hollywood Reporter

Top Critic

The bravura acting is unsupported by a script that's content to settle for the dramatic equivalent of English comfort food, with moments of pathos and whimsy doled out like spoonfuls of dough and treacle.

May 15, 2009 Full Review Source: Globe and Mail

| Comment

Liam Lacey

Globe and Mail

Top Critic

[A] funny and moving drama about the mysteries of the grave.

May 15, 2009 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader

| Comment

J. R. Jones

Chicago Reader

Top Critic

There's a touch of magic at play here but it is of the understated variety, delivering a finale that is unexpectedly hopeful, moving and emotionally satisfying.

May 15, 2009 Full Review Source: Toronto Star

| Comment

Bruce Demara

Toronto Star

Top Critic

Occasionally wistful, often melancholy but always charming.

May 13, 2009 Full Review Source: Orlando Sentinel

| Comment

Roger Moore

Orlando Sentinel

Top Critic

Is Anybody There? devolves into a predictable yarn about a boy and a grandfatherly figure - but adding Michael Caine to the mix means it's still worth your while.

November 16, 2009 Full Review Source: What Would Toto Watch?

| Comment

Christian Toto

What Would Toto Watch?

A combination of playful humor and gentle emotions connecting unlikely generations. Even if returning to the planet from the afterlife as a born again badger, is the elixir of choice that may shake this self-hating senior out of his miserable funk.

November 9, 2009 Full Review Source: NewsBlaze

| Comment

Prairie Miller

NewsBlaze

The talent and craftsmanship of "Is Anybody There?" is ample, but it remains uncertain whether there's anybody here still interested in this all-too-familiar story.

August 8, 2009 Full Review Source: indieWIRE

| Comment

Leo Goldsmith

indieWIRE

Warmly lit and beautifully acted, but cynical enough %u2013 and chock-full of enough dark humor %u2013 to avoid what might have been unbearably schmaltzy.

June 15, 2009 Comment

Sean O'Connell

Charlotte Weekly Source: Charlotte Weekly

Even when dealing with the supernatural, Caine is never less than a realist. Yet you can still see the boy in him. And in Milner, you can certainly see the man Edward will become.

June 12, 2009 Full Review Source: Sydney Morning Herald

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Sandra Hall

Sydney Morning Herald

It's a film that serves as a poignant reminder of how quickly time passes.

June 12, 2009 Full Review Source: The Australian

| Comment

David Stratton

The Australian

Weighed down by a surrounding air of quirkiness.

June 12, 2009 Full Review Source: The Age (Australia)

| Comment

Philippa Hawker

The Age (Australia)

Michael Caine is always good company, but he's been saddled with the role of a slightly pitiful man whose life has been wasted... despite generally good performances the narrative arc is pretty obvious from the start.

June 10, 2009 Full Review Source: At the Movies (Australia)

| Comment

David Stratton

At the Movies (Australia)

Like a good number of films, 'Is Anybody There?' is saved from being a routine offering by the presence of Sir Michael Caine.

June 7, 2009 Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com

| Comment

Dan Lybarger

eFilmCritic.com

Strings together a series of sitcom situations, goes for easy laughs, and wastes some very fine actors as other residents in the home.

June 5, 2009 Full Review Source: MovieTime, ABC Radio National

| Comment

Julie Rigg

MovieTime, ABC Radio National

This well crafted film is given resonance and purpose with layers and layers of detail that make the bittersweet climax all the more heartwarming.

June 5, 2009 Full Review Source: FILMINK (Australia)

| Comment

Colin Fraser

FILMINK (Australia)

Caine and Milner go together like peas in a pod. Or, better yet, like bangers and mash. They're an odd couple, but they face life as one and it's a rewarding journey.

June 1, 2009 Full Review Source: Courier Mail (Australia)

| Comment

Colin Newton

Courier Mail (Australia)

With two direct and developed lead performances from Michael Caine and young Bill Milner, it seems unfair to watch their efforts wasted on an uneven, unsatisfying picture like the tear-jerker Is Anybody There?

June 1, 2009 Full Review Source: Dark Horizons

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Brian Orndorf

Dark Horizons

a quirky, sometimes schmaltzy British dramedy that mixes meaningful ruminations about growing old with broad black comedy

May 29, 2009 Full Review Source: Q Network Film Desk

| Comment

James Kendrick

Q Network Film Desk

Director John Crowley overestimates the comedic potential of daily life for the elderly and infirmed. Thankfully, the casual, unforced chemistry between Caine and Milner is strong enough to suppress Is Anybody There?'s cornie

May 27, 2009 Full Review Source: Herald Sun (Australia)

| Comment

Leigh Paatsch

Herald Sun (Australia)

It wants so badly to be meaningful, relevant and compassionate, but struggles even to keep our attention, never mind our hearts or minds. Not even Michael Caine's slowly sinking geriatric Clarence or affecting young Bill Milner can elevate the material.

May 27, 2009 Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile

| Comment

Andrew L. Urban

Urban Cinefile

More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Is Anybody There?

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A brilliantly profound yet sad film with a great cast. It truly touched me and although the story was fairly predictable it was Caine that made the character. Despite his bad actions you still felt for him as he was genuinely sorry for what he did. The themes they explored were difficult to watch. Incredibly sad and I

October 22, 2011

Sophie Burgess

Super Reviewer

A ten-year-old boy growing up in a nursing home run by his parents questions the great mysteries of life and death with the help of a kindly, though troubled, resident.I read multiple reviews of this film describing it as "little," or otherwise diminutive, but just because it is an independent film, I don't

February 23, 2011

Jim Hunter

Super Reviewer

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