Review
MILLIONS
Staring: James Nesbitt, Alexander Nathan Etel and Lewis Owen McGibbon,
Directed by Danny Boyle
Opens Friday, April 15
Globe Cinema
When E.T. was released to general audiences in 1982, Steven Spielberg crept into a Houston cinema to watch the audience’s reaction to the film. As the closing credits began to roll, Spielberg became puzzled when the crowd took a moment of silence. Then, almost magically, an eruption of sustained applause roared through the theatre lasting three minutes. It was like nothing Spielberg had heard before. The applause signified a genuine moment of cinematic appreciation. The audience got it – and they loved it.
Today it’s rare for even the best films to receive applause at the local mega-plex, but at film festivals, closing credit applause has become blindly mandatory. So when Millions, a story that follows two young boys who discover a fortune in stolen loot, was screened at last year’s London Film Festival, the closing applause seemed an obvious given. No one dared think, especially with acclaimed director Danny Boyle in attendance, that there might be any reluctance to pay the film a hand-felt tribute once the credits rolled. In fact, many optimistically expected another directorial gem by Boyle, master craftsman of Trainspotting, A Life Less Ordinary and 28 Days Later. But then something happened. We all watched the film.
Millions stars the charming Alexander Nathan Etel (Damian) and Lewis Owen McGibbon (Anthony) as two rambunctious kids learning what it is to be good while deciding how to spend millions in only one week’s time. But loaded with these potentially rich high jinks, the film strangely falls flat, signing one bad cheque after another.
Millions misses its mark because, most surprisingly, it seems uncertain of its direction. The visual pace is exaggeratingly uneven and the script’s lack of wit produces gaping holes between much needed laughs. Frustratingly, the film’s bankrupt directorial lapses have some notable accomplices.
Frank Cottrell Boyces wrote Millions, which is a step down from his 24 Hour Party People and Welcome to Sarajevo. Cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantel and film editor Chris Gill crafted the visually lush 28 Days Later, but they just couldn’t cash in for Millions. For reasons still unknown, these talents all fall short, and the audience suffers for it.
And so as the screen went black and the closing credits rolled, the festival audience eerily fell silent. But instead of an E.T.-style moment of appreciation or the expected standard festival applause, a bizarre 25 seconds of agonizing quiet passed. Then, a reluctant clap was heard. The audience didn’t get it because simply put, Millions was shallow and boring. |
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