Viewed in
2010
Premise
A young English boy comes upon a bag of a lot of money, and decides to give it to charity.
Liked
The adorable main character.
Disliked
The confusing parts in the second half.
Thoughts
Funny and touching.
I really enjoyed the humor in the film. Damian, the protagonist, has encyclopedic knowledge of Christian saints, and thus they became is imaginary friends. It was quirky and hilarious. At times, it was heartfelt as he kept asking if they've met Saint Maureen (his mom). There also were some funny moments as he naively and earnestly tried to give away the discovered stash to the needy.
Storyline-wise, this was more than just about the premise. The heart of the story was about a young family learning to move on from the loss of their mother. Through Damian, you see how he, his older brother and their father deal with it in different, human ways. The contrast of how the two brothers spend the money was also interesting and fun.
Visually, it was energetic and intentionally colorful. Director Danny Boyle's visual style had a music video vibe that definitely ensured ADD audiences would be entertained. Personally, I got a little dizzy or annoyed at times, because the story got distracted.
The whole subplot with the bad guy looking for his money killed the momentum of the film for me. His existence was logical and so was his menacing behavior, but either it wrecked the pacing or the execution was just off. In fact those whole part of the story bewildered me.
Maybe it was because I'm American that I did not understand certain plot points, such as when the family is besieged by charity advocates in the middle of the night. Nevertheless, those moments were definitely confusing.
This was quirky, charming, and had heart. I hesitate to call it purely a family movie, but I think it had some entertaining and educational qualities to offer to older children.
What I would change
Nothing.
