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 Rating: PG-13
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Teresa Palmer, Christian Byers, Lee Cormie, James Fraser
Directed by: Rod Hardy, Chris Langman (II), Ric Beecroft
December Boys is the adaptation of a novel by Michael Noonan. This coming-of-age story revolves
around four boys, bound together by their birth month, from a Catholic
orphanage in the Australian outback. The orphanage receives a donation and
decides to send the boys to the seaside for their birthday.
Within the change
of environment, the boys meet a young couple who are unable to bear children.
There they compete to be the most adoptable, and they severely test their
friendships to the brink of rivalries. The boys eventually overcome it, sealing
their friendships together forever as the December Boys, discovering the
real meaning of life, love, friendship and family.
{mosgoogle right}The film is set
in beautiful South Australia.
From the red desert land, to the beautiful clear waters of Kangaroo Island, Australia
is shown exquisitely in this
movie. The cinematography is a unique part of the production, as the
camera pans out into the expanse of the land, showing how isolated they are
from the rest of the world. I really don't think I have ever seen the harsh
lighting of Australia
presented so beautifully in a movie.
The story is
told through Misty’s (Cormie) point of view, who is the youngest of the four. It is clear from the start that he is the one most longing to be
adopted. Throughout the film, he constantly chases and struggles with this dream. Misty eventually begins to
understand the real meaning of family, learning from his experiences at the beach.
Cormie is, by far, one of the most
brilliant actors of his age. The hopeful gaze was shown so intensely within his
eyes, he brought me to the brink of tears at several points in the movie.
Maps (Radcliffe), being the oldest, is focused on taking care of the other three
younger boys. Despite his knowledge and awareness of an upcoming change—whether it is him leaving the orphanage as he turns of age or the other boys
being adopted—Maps quietly looks after the others regardless. The
chemistry between the four young actors is palpable. On screen, they seem
to have known each other their whole lives.
One can’t help
but compare Maps’ character with Harry. At first glance, they have their
similarities - an orphan, maturing much faster than he has to. But as the movie
delves deeper, the gap between the two characters becomes much larger. While
Harry wears his heart on his sleeve, Maps is a very quiet character,
repressing many of his emotions. Once Maps meets Lucy (Palmer), he finds
himself opening up to her. The subtleties of the emotions are played amazingly
well by Radcliffe. I had to keep reminding myself that this is his first
project outside the Potter films, even before beginning Extras and Equus.
Radcliffe makes
a distinct improvement in his acting abilities, particularly
when compared with the Potter films' reliance on big-budget effects. A good
example is the Australian accent he imitates for December Boys. He avoids
the generalization many actors (even Australian ones) make when putting on
stereotypical nasal “bogan” accents. Dan’s accent
was spot on.
December Boys is
an intense, but beautiful movie. It shows the unpredictability and
vulnerability of life, and what one can learn from their experiences as an
adolescent.
Seeing this film
expels the thought of Dan being typecast into Harry Potter for the rest of his
life. December Boys shows that he is convincing enough to become one of the best
young actors of our generation.
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