After a decade plus in Hollywood (where he made Hearts in Atlantis, Snow Falling on Cedars and No Reservations), director Scott Hicks returns to the adopted homeland in which he made his breakthrough film Shine.
Based on a memoir by Simon Carr which told of his attempts to raise two boys as a widower, The Boys Are Back tries for a positive emotional punch in tragic circumstances. Clive Owen is Joe Warr, an English sports reporter living in Australia with his second wife and their son. When his wife succumbs to cancer and he is left to bring up the young boy - as well as his older son over from England from his first marriage - the film enters male bonding territory as Joe tries to come to terms with a wholly unexpected new situation.
Despite Hicks' evident visual flair - the film looks beautiful - its tone is too uneven. For instance, Joe's dead wife starts to appear to him giving him advice on how to deal with the kids. A supernatural? Not quite, as these appearances diminish as the film goes on, leading us to wonder why they were there in the first place. Joe develops a friendship with another single parent named Laura which leads us to believe some romance will be in store. But again, the answer is no. Inevitable comedy moments with the boys, scenes of Joe rushing to be at his next sporting event and arguments within the family all lead us down one road only to take an abrupt turn at a critical moment.
Owen isn't really stretched here - if he is he's not showing it - and the real stars are the two younger male actors (George Mackay and Nicholas McAnulty) who both show a lot of promise. It's undoubtedly meant to be touching stuff, and certainly being based in fact it should not be lightly dismissed, but it's rather reminiscent of movie-of-the-week fare, although it's unlikely anyone will need any tissues to wipe away the tears.
Paul Hurley
