Monday, May 3, 2010

Fatherly Love in The Boys Are Back


Imagine testosterone walking around your living room, collecting soiled clothes, washing dishes in the backroads of Australia's dry and dusty backroads? Then imagine it is Clive Owen! Oohlala!

In Scott Hick's "The Boys Are Back", we follow sports journalist Joe Warr as he deals with the death of his wife. He is suddenly left with a little boy to look after. To make matters worse, his other son from his first marriage flies from London for a visit. And he doesn't know what to do with them! One day, work requires him to fly to Melbourne for a couple of days - and there's no one to take care of the children.

Joe's daily trials are engaging. What's different about this film from other domestic dramas is that storytelling isn't told like a sentimental hogwash. There's no "woe is me" here; only real events that real people experience. It shows the resiliency of the human spirit and the importance of family in grief management. I like that.



Clive Owen on acting: "I don't 'do' emotion. Emotions are overrated. I'm more interested in creating a presence." He sure did that in "Closer"!


The 6'3" actor is happily married to his "Juliet" when he did "Romeo" back in RADA! On his making "The Boys Are Back": "It made me realise I've not made many films my own children can see, and I want them to see what their old man does for a living. When I was a kid, Catweazle was the bees' knees, the best thing on TV. I didn't want to be Cedric or the other kid, I wanted to grow up to be just like Catweazle. It's my dream role. You could say my whole career has just been a rehearsal for Catweazle."





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