Roxie
The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;
Curt
Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.
Logan
By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.
cmalt20
This film is completely charming. The relationships between father, Edward Pettigrew (Colin Firth) and son, Fraser (Robert Norman) is both of a bygone era and has a naturalness which is unknown to Hollywood.Adding in the allure of Irène Jacob (of 'La Double Vie de Veronique' fame (a master piece) and the understated performance of the long suffering wife of Edward Pettigrew (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio - The Perfect storm; The Colour of Money) and we have acting at its very best.It's really difficult to avoid overuse of 'charming' with this film along with 'romantic' in the wider sense of the word - whether as enjoyed via the Pettigrew daughter Elspeth's teenage crush on the lusty and wordly (literally 'drop in') aviator; the interplay between the family matriarch 'gamma' (granmother - Rosemary Harris ); or the bashful servants agog at the 'goings-on' upstairs in the Pettigrew castle.Overall though, Firth and Norman steal the show and our hearts with an evocative unfolding of a life in Scotland before all was sullied by cars, television, mobile phones and the rest. A time when (as both Norman's and Firth's characters beautifully portray) imagination held sway.You leave the film wishing you'd had that life - 'so far' at least.Not surprsing that (Sir - if you believe in those kind of 'titles') Denis Forman (on whom the story is based) also was involved in the TV version of 'Jewel In The Crown' - the Indian classic of another bygone era.Similarly - Hugh Hudson, the direcor, famoulsy made Chariots of Fire and his capture of the charm or romance of a given time is again evident in this later work.Over all from this reviewer's perspective - this film perfectly conjured up both a bygone era and bygone ways of relating. So refreshing to have not only a non-American film but a non-English British work. The Scottish-ness lent it even more charm and it is SO REFRESHING to see a film based in or on Scotland which is NOT one of urban gritty violence and / or familial dysfunction. There are only so many 'My Name Is Joe' - type films emanating from Scotland which you can watch before throwing your hands up in the air and pleading for a nice 'feel good' Scottish film. This is it, revel in it , enjoy it: it's special.
George Parker
"My Life So Far" is a light hearted and somewhat stuffy coming of age film about a boy (Norman) and his father (Firth) living on a Scottish estate with sundry family members, servants, visitors, etc. in the years following WWI. A nicely laid out period piece, this film ventures into the busy-ness of the manor as we watch the inquisitive boy and his crack-pot inventor and smitten father grow up together to the accompaniment of curling tournaments, visitations from a pilot, a hairy man skulking in the woods, etc., and, of course, the sometimes unseemly family matters. "My Life So Far" is not one of the better period film as it spreads itself too thinly over numerous inconsequential matters of little interest beyond the characters. However, for those into British period films, this one may prove mildly amusing and entertaining. (B)
arizonapeanut
I thought this was a very sweet, subtle, good movie. There were a few scenes that had me laughing my arse off. I usually like Colin Firth in movies, and this was no exception. I liked how they really told the story from Fraser's POV, but that it still conveyed the complexity of the adults around him. How the father and son communicate by barking was adorable, and the last scene is worth watching this movie.
Thomas Lewis
A wonderful example of what happens when a movie has been infused with a drastically insufficient supply of dramatic tension. The characters wander with apparent aimlessness through most of this visually lovely film, commenting on nothing in particular that we care about. None of the actors gives the slightest indication of being involved in the non-existent story; the child actors are particularly bland and read their lines as if from a cue card. Events transpire, but because of the dearth of tension, the film leaves the overwhelming impression that *nothing has happened.* And, indeed, nothing of importance has.
