I was very impressed with Trainspotting and really enjoyed 28 Days Later and was interested to see what director, Danny Boyle, would do with a tale which appears to be at the other end of the scale - a sweet story of 2 young brothers who have recently lost their mother and who suddenly find themselves with a load of cash which appears seemingly out of the sky. This is complicated by the fact that England is about to switch to the Euro which will soon make the (sterling) cash worthless.
A big chunk of the film is taken up with the 2 boys' differing approaches to getting rid of the money before the Euro deadline. The younger brother (played by Alex Etel), who sees and talks to saints, is set on giving the money to the poor, while the older brother (played by Lewis McGibbon) would rather spend the money on the more usual stuff. The latter part of the film builds the tension with the boys' father (James Nesbitt), the police and a menacing figure becoming aware of the cash. The unknown agenda of a woman who becomes involved with the boys' father is also a worry.
The film is beautifully shot from the very first sequence and there is a dreamlike quality to much of it, which reminded me of films like Amelie and Edward Scissorhands (the film score also brings these films to mind although there are contemporary tracks as well) as well as previous Danny Boyle films, such as Trainspotting and 28 Days Later. Of course, the 2 young boys carry the film and play the parts to perfection with a perfect mix of innocence and cynicism. I'm not a big fan of James Nesbitt but I thought he did very well here and his northern accent is just about passable! All the adult actors gently support the children without stealing any of the limelight (although I thought the policeman was great).
This is a lovely, feel-good film, full of optimisim and aspiration but not overly sickly sweet. It is nice to see England presented in such a lovely light, as Paris was in Amelie, and reminds you that it can as good a place as any to grow up in. So if it's raining and grey outside, watch this!
Fantastic film - highly recommended.