I am fast becoming a fan of British director Danny Boyle. I saw 28 Days Later when it came on FX last month and was amazed how beautiful digital video could look. I haven’t seen Trainspotting yet, but from what I’ve heard people say, I’d probably like it. Now, thanks to a renewed subscription to Netflix, I’ve watched Millions, Boyle’s much toned down “feel good film.”
Damian is a little boy who moves into a new house with his brother and father after the death of his mother. Damian is obsessed with Catholic saints and even sees them on occasion. While playing in a cardboard house he built on the side of the train tracks, Damian stumbles across a satchel full of British pounds. He decides the money is sent by God for him to give to the poor. His brother, Anthony, has different ideas – real estate for one. Britain is on the cusp of the pound-Euro turnover and the brothers have to decide what to do with the cash before it becomes worthless in a week. To make matters a bit more interesting, the thief who stole the money is determined to get it back he wants it back.
The movie could have easily gone the way of your standard Disney Channel Original Movie junk, but Doyle’s incredible visuals and the great acting saves it from that mediocre fate. We are often taken into Damian’s imagination – to see what he sees. The movie avoids patronizing kids and parodying adults that many kid/family oriented movies do. The movie is also not afraid to include religion – another rarity for modern movies of this type. The film raises some interesting moral questions: what would you do if you found a lot of money? What if it was stolen? What if it was originally intended to be destroyed? There are some great conversations that could come from it.
That being said, there are a couple of issues that kind of break the film from being a true family movie. There is a scene with Damian’s dad and his new girlfriend in bed together. Nothing explicit – there just might need to be some explaining. Also, in a kind of unnecessary scene, Anthony is checking out a leingire website – slightly explicit in close-ups. The robber can be a bit scary for littler kids. Bottom line: watch it first, learn the fast-forward marks and then watch it with your kids. It might un-fry their brains after watching the most current incarnation of Pokemon.
Rated: PG for a scary thief, leingire website, and for a dad on the rebound
[rating:5]