Actuakers
One of my all time favorites.
BoardChiri
Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay
Billy Ollie
Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable
MattyGibbs
This is a drama about the father/son relationship. It follows Robbie a new 14 year old father whose disappointment with his relationship with his father leads him to make some wrong decisions concerning his new born son. It is a well acted but bleak tale with an excellent performances from Kyle Ward as the young lad who wants to look after his son but is woefully under prepared for such a task. Ian Hart also does a good job as the stay away father that his son doesn't want to turn into. A Boy Called Dad maybe would have benefited by following a more traditional path like the strong start of the movie as the situations that occur later are pretty implausible. As a result it does feel like this was a missed opportunity to create something really special. The middle of the film feels contrived but the ending I thought was pretty thought provoking and pulled the film back from disappointment.This is a good small budget film and one I enjoyed and would recommend.
Tim Kidner
For those who praised both the directing and writing of A Boy Called Dad might like to know that Brian Percival (who directed the multi-award winning ITV drama 'Downton Abbey') won a BAFTA along with screenwriter Julie Rutherford. That was a short, About A Girl, in 2001.This re-teaming in 2009, a small £1million budget and a welcome star name of Ian Hart have produced a modest little gem of a Brit movie, filmed in Liverpool and north Wales. A Boy Called Dad stars 14 y.o. Kyle Ward, a natural and fine performance (though according to IMDb, hasn't been in anything since) from a lad who has a one night stand - and then fatherhood. The mother of the child has little contact with Robbie (Ward) and lives separately.Enter jack-the-lad Robbie's Dad, a cheeky Liverpudlian with a VW pickup. He left Robbie and his mother some years before and says that he had moved to Ireland, when he had in fact, not. Robbie, after some reacquainting and bonding with his Dad, feels rejected and goes off the rails, kidnaps his own son and makes off in a car.The film does have its moments of action, bursts of anger and a lot of quiet moments of contemplation and emotion. It won't suit everyone, though its very humanity should appeal to us all. It's whether we choose to actually sit down and watch it rather than something more gimmicky and instantly gratifying. It's not a great movie, but a good one.
julianshouse
I think that overall A boy called dad is a very deep and very enjoyable movie. At first glance the film seems to be about teenage pregnancy, but there are so many more aspects to it. Such as how the method of fatherhood gets passed down through the generations and how the protagonist changes as he takes care of his son. I thought that Kyle Ward did a great job as Robbie, you could see that he was capable of great compassion but at the same time he could get very angry, overall the standard of acting was high all round. The cinematography was very lush, they chose to go lightly on the colour correction which gave it a more realistic feel but it the shots still look fantastic and compel you to watch on. The story was well written and the dialogue felt natural and original which was great. I would have liked to have seen more of the mother of Robbie's son, we don't see much of her throughout the movie and we never hear any of her story which could be quite interesting. But the story is mainly about the four generations of this family. There are some points when I felt like I had no idea what Robbie's plan was or what he was trying to do which didn't really achieve the exciting effect it should have. But these moments can be forgiven, the rest of the story is very compelling and will keep you on the edge of your seat at the end. Overall I really enjoyed A boy called Dad, especially the ending which I thought was very clever.
bigb91
This film could have so easily been lacklustre, miserable, tedious and dismal. After all it's about a fourteen year old (I think?)lad who goes on the run with his small baby, another reminder of the UK's spiralling teenage pregnancy rates. BUT IT'S NOT ANY OF THESE THINGS!!. A Boy called Dad is heartwarming, funny, yeah it's sad and I cried loads as did some of my friends, but this film manages a really difficult theme with great dignity and flair. I identified with someone who, on paper, I wouldn't have thought was possible but you can't help but imagine yourself on this young teenage dad's journey of unplanned fatherhood and the warm expansion of the love he feels for this helpless and lovable little mite. You feel sorry for them both and eventually proud of the young dad for having coped and developed so much as a decent human being. I love Ian Hart's acting and he's always good value for money. Oh God, Robbie (the young lad) and his baby in the barn with the beautiful light shining on them both asleep (Don 't worry this point not essential to the plot!). Absolutely gorgeous. It reminded me a little of the Hayley Mills film when the kids find a man they think is Jesus. The bit that made me weep buckets though was the sub-plot of the beautiful welsh girl - won't tell you what happens as would spoil it! If I had to describe the film it would be as hard as nails but heartbreakingly sweet.
