Hugh Grant often plays such unlikeable characters — Bridget Jones's Diary, Two Weeks Notice, and Paddington, to name a few —, he has over the year become an actor I particularly dislike. His charm is undeniable though and since he's also quite a good actor, I figured I should check out more of his work. About a Boy was my first pick — Netflix has been shoving it on my face for the whole month — and I'm glad I gave it a shot because it is a funny, sweet and heartwarming feel-good film.
Based on Nick Hornby's novel of the same name, the story follows Will Freeman (Hugh Grant), a 38-year-old self-centred slacker who has liver comfortable off the royalties of a song written many years before by his now-deceased father and has never worked a day in his life.
The idea that he might be what single moms need comes across his mind, so he shows up at a Single Parents Alone Together meeting, and pretends to be a single father. As a result of a date with one of the single mothers, Suzie (Victoria Smurfit), Will meets Marcus (Nicholas Hoult), a 12-year-old vegetarian who lives with his depressed and hippie mother, Fiona (Toni Collette) and is constantly made fun of at school because he's different. When Fiona attempts suicide, Marcus realises that two people are not enough and sets out to pull Will into the equation.
It's a fairly simple story whose outcome is clichéd and predictable as it's the personal epiphany kind of story that we have seen many times before. Thankfully, the bullet was dodged as the intelligent screenplay is filled with intriguing and well-developed characters.
Will is a lazy, shallow, manipulative, self-absorbed man with a fear of commitment who invents a son to hit on single mothers as he believes them to be more desperate than he is. He is a very unresponsible and unlikeable character and yet we warm to him because, unlike it happens most of the time, there's no sudden change of heart toward the end in Will; it's rather a process, a slow growth. We witness his coming-of-age as his relationship with Marcus develops.
Marcus is a shy, nerdy, socially awkward kid who is constantly bulliled because of the hippie lifestyle his mother has forced on him and his quirk of singing out loud without even realizing it. On top of that, he has to deal with and take care of his depressed mother, which is definitely too much to ask for to a 12-year-old. He's a real kid with real problems, reason why we care for him.
Fiona, although she has very limited screentime, makes for a compelling character too. She doesn't have a lot of characterization but her development makes her so interesting. As expected, she does change at the end of the film; however, she doesn't go straight from point A to point B but takes many detours along the way — whenever she is about to recover, she always goes back to the starting point.
The only character I found a bit underwhelming was Rachel Weisz's Rachel. Although Will's relationship with her is different from his past, meaningless, shallow ones and it's because of this romance that we realise Will is growing up, it felt as if both the character and the romantic subplot was underdone — and I would have probably forgotten about it if it wasn't for Weisz in the role.
About a Boy isn't just well written, it's also filled with great performances from its cast. Hugh Grant give arguably his best performance ever as he brings to the character of Will a depth, a complexity I haven't seen before. He is charismatic as usual but he doesn't come off as pretentious or obnoxious; instead, he's rather likeable and we soon find ourselves sympathizing with him as he slowly takes off Will's mask of superficiality and insecurity. His very expressive face does wonder when it comes to conveying Will's emotions — whether it's anger, selfishness, or hurt — but it's the way he handles the comedy, making you laugh throughout either with a witty line or a weird facial expression, that will win you over.
The rest of the cast provides Grant more than solid support. Although he struggles a bit as he has too much weight to carry, a young Nicholas Hoult is believable as Marcus, the sky, awkward kid who befriends Will and manages the emotional side egregiously. In addition, the chemistry he has with Grant is outstanding which makes their interactions a real pleasure to watch. Toni Collette is good as Marcus's mother, Fiona, although her performance could/would have been great if she was given some of the film's comedy. Rachel Weisz really makes the best of her small, underused role with yet another brilliant performance of hers.
About a Boy also has a great balance between comedy and drama. As a result, the film manages to make you laugh with its witty and clever humour and touch your heart. The score by Badly Drawn Boy is very fitting and enhances even more the emotions conveyed by the actors.
Also noteworthy is the film's narrative style, the often hated because impersonal, cold voice-over. It's not your typical voice-over though, it's a double voice-over which is very nice as it's often the source of humour and gives us an insight on Will and Marcus's thoughts.
About a Boy also has a great balance between comedy and drama. As a result, the film manages to make you laugh with its witty and clever humour and touch your heart. The score by Badly Drawn Boy is very fitting and enhances even more the emotions conveyed by the actors.
Also noteworthy is the film's narrative style, the often hated because impersonal, cold voice-over. It's not your typical voice-over though, it's a double voice-over which is very nice as it's often the source of humour and gives us an insight on Will and Marcus's thoughts.
