OH Boy!

I heard very little about this before it was released and it came as a great swell of surprise when I saw it. Make or break for me is identification with characters - whether or not you are willing to take the journey of the film with them. The opening of this trailer will give you an idea how easy it is to go anywhere with this 'Boy'.

James Rolleston was a late starter for the part. He turned up at a wardrobe call for extras and won the role after a series of auditions. During the long preproduction rewrites, the original Boy had grown into adolescence and out of contention for the role. Spare a thought for this mystery 'Boy' who must occasionally think of the 'Might have Beens' as he watches the stellar trajectory of the film. Spare another for the girl Judy Davis replaced as the lead in 'My Brilliant Career' all those years ago, whose name (surprise, surprise) escapes me.

Taika Waititi plays the father and his wonderful performance is made more stunning when you realise he is the director and writer and just about everything else. Along the path to production, he took his script to Sundance and worked and reworked his ideas until the film arrived at its current state as highest grossing New Zealand film of all time. The last high grossing New Zealand film was the 'World's Fastest Indian' with famous expat NZ director Roger Donaldson and Anthony Hopkins. To measure Waititi's accomplishment it is worth considering that there is not one familiar face in this production.

Once were warriors, now are gentler 'Boy's and oh my God, years of hard work.

Click here to see the trailer of 'BOY':

To Be or Not to Be?

When you first see 'Me and Orson Welles', you might wonder if you can accept Christian McKay as Welles BUT it won't take long before you think the man has come back to life. This actor had played Orson before and it certainly shows.

From the credits onward this is an unusual film. The production originates from the Isle of Man - a small tax haven off the coast of England. The film itself is peopled with faces from the Royal Shakespeare Company and the story of the shoot would inspire anyone battling with a smaller budget than the film required. The Isle of Man took the place of New York and the same set at Pinewood was used over and over again from different angles to represent the whole Big Apple. Who cares? You'd never know.

Both Zac Ephron and Claire Danes are good with particular credit to Danes who manages to mix hard heart with hard head and still keep our sympathy.

I went with an actor friend who laughed out loud. This is very close to what happens behind the scenes and it is crowned by a representation of the Julius Caesar / Welles production which made his name. Don't laugh too much - some of the scenes are practically documentary footage of theatrical life.

Click here to see a trailer of Me and Orson Welles: