Directed by:
Elissa DownCinematography:
Denson BakerComposer:
Michael YezerskiCast:
Rhys Wakefield, Luke Ford, Toni Collette, Erik Thomson, Gemma Ward, Henry Nixon, Lisa Kowalski, Firass Dirani, Ngoc Phan, Andrew Ryan, Kate Box, Claire McCarthy (more)VOD (1)
Plots(1)
Coming-of-age family drama, from director Elissa Down, about a teenage boy adapting to life in a new town with an autistic brother in tow. 16-year-old Thomas (Rhys Wakefield) has just moved with his family to a new town. It's hard enough adapting to new home, friends, and school, but when you have an older autistic brother and distinctly odd parents, it's always going to be tough. Thomas's older brother Charlie (Luke Ford) suffers from ADS syndrome, and consequently gets to choose which days to attend the local school. With his father prone to discussing world affairs with his teddy-bear, and his mother likely to sleep with whomever she chooses, it's not ideal. Things take a turn for the worse when his mother announces she's pregnant, causing Thomas to have an even bigger role in caring for Charlie. But just when things seem to at their blackest, Thomas runs into, literally, girl-next-door Jackie (Gemma Ward), and hearts begin to pound. (Icon Home Entertainment)
(more)Reviews (2)
A nice, small, well-focused indie "feeler" that didn't move me in any significant way, but which also didn't irritate me (as others sometimes manage to do). Gemma Ward is magical, and so are some of the situations, for example the bear dialogues. An enjoyable and visually pleasing film.
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At times I found the autistic "scenes" and "outbursts" a bit overdone and purely calculating, but that would be about the only flaw in the film.)) DiCaprio's performance in What's Eating Gilbert Grape struck me a bit more, after all, and while The Black Balloon has some really powerful (Thomas' party) and beautiful scenes (spending an afternoon together with Charlie and hiding from the rain), the final impression is a bit weaker than the aforementioned Hallström film. But nice and well made – that it certainly is :)))
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