Film Review: Son of Rambow (2007)

Directed by: Garth Jennings

This charming coming-of-age drama was quite a surprise, an interesting story of two unlikely friends finding common ground in their estranged parents and coming together over the filming of a sequel to Rambo that they undertake (not bad for 11-year-olds). The arrival of a French exchange student and his new-found entouarge creates a seam between the two, only for it to be healed by a handful of altruistic acts. The film is delicately produced, not relying on cheap editing and heavy conflict to bring the drama, and the characters, though quite light in the plot, are colourful, interesting and have well-developed arcs. In a similar way to Slumdog Millionaire, the film never seemed to reach the deep emotional levels that it could have, but was colourful with interesting interjections (such as Will's imagination finding its way into the mise-en-scene). This may, I'm beginning to feel, be a symptom of British understatement, and perhaps I'm too seasoned to the empathy-enforcing Hollywood machine, but it takes a while to feel the sentiment. Overall an enjoyable film and well worth watching.