FILMS
‘The Boys Are Back’ in the year’s best ‘bromance’
Reviewed by Rebecca Bostic | Oct. 15, 2009 | The Catholic Sun
The past couple of years in cinema have witnessed the advent of the “bromance” — a term used to describe films that focus on the non-romantic, but heartfelt relationships between men.
Most of these films have been in the romantic comedy genre, but the bromance moves into more serious terrain in “The Boys are Back” (Miramax).
Clive Owen stars as Joe Warr, a father of two sons from different mothers. The three wind up together, sans mothers, in the Australian countryside.
Directed by Scott Hicks — best known for “Shine” — “The Boys are Back” has much to say about the nature of family and parenthood.
Owen’s role could have easily become cliché and predictable, but he plays Joe with a balance of wit and emotion.
As the film opens, Joe’s second wife Katie has died of cancer, leaving him — an often-traveling sportswriter with a limited relationship with their 6-year-old son Artie — to figure out how to manage. In the midst of reconstructing life with Artie, Joe’s older son Harry, from a previous marriage, joins them.
Joe is clearly not a model father or husband. He left his first wife and son for Katie, with whom he had an affair. Soon after Katie’s death, he starts to see another woman. It seems Joe can hardly help himself. Yet his renewed relationship with his sons pulls him out of these selfish pursuits.
The pain and chaos left by the death of his wife forces Joe to learn how to be a caring and involved parent. His children inspire a new direction and priorities in his life.
The elder brother Harry is played by George MacKay and is terrific alongside the young, enigmatic Nicholas McAnulty as Artie. McAnulty’s ability to show the desperate reality of a small boy coping with the loss of his mother is heartbreaking and amazing considering his age.
“The Boys are Back” is as heartwarming as it is heart-wrenching. It’s about much more than a wayward father discovering the value of true and unselfish love. It’s the best “bromance” so far.
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Media critic Rebecca Bostic is a regular contributor to The Catholic Sun. Comments are welcome. Send e-mail to letters@catholicsun.org.
