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December Boys

December Boys (2007)

September. 14,2007
|
6.5
|
PG-13
| Drama Romance

For many years, four teenage orphans at an Australian outback convent have watched their younger comrades find new parents, and realize that they may never be adopted. The Reverend Mother sends the four boys away on a seaside vacation, where they meet Teresa and Fearless, a couple who would make perfect parents. The youths compete with one another to be the one Teresa and Fearless decide to adopt.

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SnoReptilePlenty
2007/09/14

Memorable, crazy movie

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Listonixio
2007/09/15

Fresh and Exciting

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Dirtylogy
2007/09/16

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

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filippaberry84
2007/09/17

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

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Filipe Neto
2007/09/18

The story of this film is very touching: focusing on four young Australian orphans, the film portrays the end of childhood and the beginning of adolescence. The four boys are united by an immortal friendship strengthened by constant union. Having no family, they became family to one another. The eldest, in fact, no longer has any hope of knowing what it is to have a mother and father. They're sent by the orphanage to a small seashore village as a birthday present but, on this trip, their bonds of friendship and brotherhood will be tested when they suspect that a couple of local residents may be thinking of adopting one of them. It's also a moment of discovery of sexuality. The four are already curious about women, but only one really is old enough to do their sexual initiation.The cast revolves around four young actors, being the oldest and most famous of them Daniel Radcliffe, the eternal "Harry Potter". Lee Cormie, Christian Byers and James Fraser, three actors unknown to me so far, complete the quartet. I think they were all excellent in their respective roles, being the youngest of all to assume the role of narrating the story, in hindsight. Each one will overcome their personal challenges and will mature with it, which makes the film gradually more serious, mature and emotive. At the end, the most emotional scene shows us how that friendship has surpassed the test of time. A word of praise for the choice of filming locations, with beautiful maritime landscapes and enchanting beaches.I think most people who see this movie do it because of Daniel Radcliffe but, after watching it, I think it has a lot more to offer. The whole cast was very good, the place is beautiful but, above all, the story told is very touching.

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eric262003
2007/09/19

For many years, Daniel Radcliffe has stunned audiences both young and old alike as the dynamic Harry Potter. But now as the franchise has become a part of the past, Radcliffe does everything to refrain from carrying that image around as he's proving time and time again, that he can tackle other roles. In the movie "December Boys", Radcliffe shows that he's now all grown up and is now ready to take on other challenges outside the realms of Harry Potter. Based highly on the novel by Michael Noonan, "December Boys" under the direction of Rod Hardy, this movie, like Rob Reiner's 1986 iconic film "Stand By Me", truly stands out as the definitive coming-of-age story centres around four boys named Maps (Radcliffe), Misty (Lee Cromie), Spark (Christian Byers) and Spit (James Fraser) form an alliance thanks mainly to the orphanage they're staying at because of sheer irony that their birthdays happen to be in the month of December. The boys are now past the adoption age limit and may never know what it's like to be loved by a parent. At 16, Maps has decided to accept that he will never be parented and while Spit and Spark still have a shot, they prefer to be under the watchful eye of the very mature Maps. But Misty, the youngest of the group is the most determined to find a parent/s that will love him and take care of him. It's his story of being rejections that melt our hearts as we feel his desire to one day be taken into a loving and caring family.One fine summer in December (in Australia, summer is in December), the boys take a vacation to the Southern Australian shore and are staying up with a retired naval officer named Bandy McAnsh (Jack Thompson) and his terminally ill wife Skipper (Kris McQuade). While there they become friends with a young couple named Teresa (Victoria Hill) and her motorcycle enthusiast husband Fearless (Sullivan Stapleton). The young couple are faced with a tragic secret. They also provoke a cranky geriatric fisherman who spends most of his time trying to catch some mythical fish. Maps also falls smitten for a young teen-aged girl named Lucy (Teresa Palmer). What makes this story sell is due to the gorgeous Australian coastline with is unorthodox rock formations and the caves serve justice for the four boys especially Misty's dream which connects almost to the Virgin Mary. However, because of the fantasy narrative and the world demonstrated in black and white from a children's eye view of the world and that the character development becomes lost in that area. Lucy seems more like a male fantasy character who feels not well fleshed out rather than struggling with her inner problems growing up in the 1960's. While Palmer is quite beautiful and turns in a great performance as Lucy, there no way she can be that lustful, even for an adolescent. All the ensemble give it their all, especially Radcliffe's Maps who serves as a mentor to the other boys while at the same time is facing off with his own disappointments. While this role is not his most memorable one, it shows that he has come a very long way and his maturity level has risen quite substantially in this movie. This movie had me totally dismiss that this young man starred in Harry Potter as his trial and tribulations had me intrigued the whole time. But the real scene stealing moments come from Lee Cromie's Misty. Cromie does an exceptional job a young boy caught in the middle of being loyal to his December born gang and his dedication to find a family who will raise him.The main faults to this movie includes the direction by Rod Hardy has no fanciful tricks and is not very difficult to execute. Also the ending can be hard to swallow as it manipulates its audience to garner one last tear to wrap things up can be both contriving and manipulative. The coming-of-age sub-genres between the boys can be reflect to more stellar entries can suffer a bit its story tone. But the performances by the cast and the warm optimistic feeling you get from watching this movie actually prevents this film from being a standard fare TV-Movie type of movie.

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TheSilverTongue
2007/09/20

Let's kill the elephant in the room. This film would not have been even moderately successful without the unusual and often awkward inclusion of Daniel Radcliffe. December Boys is Radcliff's first non-Potter film since he was twelve. While I understand that a quirky Aussie production would gain positive attention for the soon-to-be washup, Radcliffe simply wasn't the right man for the job. Enough about that wizard though.December Boys is a heart-warming story of four brother-like orphans fighting for the affection of hopeful adopters. Although there is little diversity in their characters, Misty, Maps, Sparks and Spit engage in cute rivalry, betrayal and camaraderie.The film tackles some simple themes in a charming manner. The boys learn the true meaning of family and the equal importance of friendship. Radcliffe's character, Maps explores the strings of his heart, teased by the young character portrayed valiantly by Teresa Palmer. This romantic sub-plot was underdeveloped, but provided a wonderful contrast to the boys' bleaker aspects of life. Unfortunately, misplaced religious motifs proved distracting and unnecessary.Visually, December Boys is a glorious achievement. Set in an enchanting, isolated beach community in Australia, sepia overtones enhance the film's sense of age. In several scenes, I found myself in awe over the vast, blue waters and the fringing green cliff-sides.Danielle Radcliffe, through no fault of his own, is the greatest downfall of this quality film. Though a slight let down, December Boys is a worthy watch for lovers of simple, honest films.To read more of my reviews, visit http://silvertonguereviews.wordpress.com/

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jemps918
2007/09/21

Set in the late 60s, December Boys is a beautiful, poignant tale of adolescence and abandonment with the vast, awe-inspiring Australian outback as a backdrop, unraveled in the same vein as Stand By Me."What's the big deal about having parents anyway?" Maps (Daniel Radcliffe) retorts to his summer fling Lucy (Teresa Palmer). Maps is the eldest of four orphan boys who get sent for a seaside holiday with an elderly couple. Misty (Lee Cormie) is the youngest and the artistic one of the brood. Sparks (Christian Byers) is good with mechanical things, while Spit (James Fraser) is so named for what he does best.Having been given a glimpse of what the orphans' lives have been like together, you have an idea of where Maps' trend of thought comes from. They've survived so far without parents, and they have had each other to call as family growing up. This just becomes more glaring as they interact with their host family's neighbors, and they get in an emotional competition for possible adoption that tests the limits of their brotherhood.Unfulfilled expectations are shared by all characters regardless of age and situation, and this is the main theme that the audience empathizes with. It is heartbreaking to see their faces light up with hope at the possibility of winning the parent lottery only to be passed on time and time again. Rude awakenings and rejection are themes that most people can relate to after hardened years, but for children to already know it intimately at such an age is what makes December Boys the thoughtful tearjerker it is.

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