Lumsdal
Good , But It Is Overrated By Some
Senteur
As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.
Roxie
The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;
Tanya Lakhdar
I totally agree. The acting was just repulsive. Will's, to be exact. He was like he was totally reading off a script. No emotion. And I think that was a very important character to have the right actor. And he was hardly even an actor. His nightmares were so fake and poorly-acted that it was even laughable. Will was cheeky and quite unlikable, he made no character progress, stayed the same (which was basically the whole point and storyline of the book and movie-he flourishes with the help of Mister Tom). I'd like to warn anyone- IF YOU READ THE BOOK, DON'T SEE THE MOVIE- SPOILS IT ALL! This movie is, like, seriously underrated. It's slow-moving and boring. I couldn't care less of what happens next. It does, as you said, miss out on a lot of very important parts such as: -The character development. -The love Will shows for Tom. -Will, Tom and Zach's holiday in the sun -Spooky Cott and whatshisname that lives there -His mum was much much nicer, Tom was meaner and Will was bolder -Zach, Ginnie, Carrie, George and Will: all the times they hung out I bet I forgot a lot, but basically the movie is extremely overrated and pure crap.
aled-6
This movie resonated with me on two levels. As a kid I was evacuated from London and planted on unwilling hosts in a country village. While I escaped the bombing and had experiences which produced treasured memories (for example hearing a nightingale sing one dark night for the very first time) and enjoying a life I never could have had in London, I missed my family and worried about them. Tom is an old man whose wife and child have both died and who lives alone in a small country village.As an old man who is now without a wife whose kids have gotten married and live far away in another province, I am again sometime lonely. The boy's mother is a religious fanatic with very odd ideas of raising a child. Since a deep affection has grown between old Tom Oakley and this young lad, Tom goes in search of him and finally rescues him from very odd and dangerous circumstances. At the end of the story there is great tension since due to some bureaucratic ruling it seems that the child is going to lose someone who has developed a loving relationship with him.
Essex_Rider
20 out of 10 This is a truly wonderful story about a wartime evacuee and a curmudgeonly carpenter Tom Oakley. The boy (William Beech) is billeted with Tom and it is immediately apparent that he has serious issues when he wets his bed on the first night. William is illiterate and frightened but somehow the two find solace in each others loneliness. It transpires that William has a talent as an artist and we see Tom's talent as a choirmaster in an amusing rendition of Jerusalem. William is befriended by Zacharias Wrench, a young Jewish lad also from London and along with both Tom and Zacharias, he finally learns to read and write and to feel a part of this small close knit community. Just as he is settling down, William is recalled back to London by his mother, and it is here we see why he is so screwed up. His mother is clearly mentally sick and when Tom doesn't hear from William, he travels to London to look for him. He finally finds him holding his dead baby sister where he has been tied up in a cellar. After a period in hospital, Tom realises he must kidnap him and take him home with him. The climax is a bitter-sweet ending when William is told he is to be adopted by Tom, while at the same time, learning his best friend Zacharias has been killed in an air raid in London. For me, one of the most moving scenes was when Tom was talking to a official from the Home Office.I love 'im, an' for what it's worth, I think he loves me too'.It just doesn't get better that that does it?
sarahken
Well, when before I saw this film I really wasn't sure whether it would be my cup of tea...how wrong I was! I thought that this was one of the best films I've watched for a very long time, a real family classic. The story of a young evacuee and his new 'foster' dad, this film ticks all the boxes. I've not read the book (maybe that's a good thing & meant I enjoyed the film more) but with regards to the story, I really can't think of any bad points, hence scoring it 10 out of 10 (and I hardly ever think anything warrants top marks!). By the time William proclaimed 'I CAN RIDE MY BIKE, DAD!' I was sobbing my heart out (anyone who's seen it will understand, I'm sure). Really heartwarming, and definitely recommended.
