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Fantastic!

What a freaking movie. So many twists and turns. Absolutely intense from start to finish.

Blistering performances.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

It's 80's England. Edward is an angry young boy. His mother has turned the family home into an old age home. He has lost his room to one of the old folks. His father is going through a mid-life crisis. He has questions about death and uses his tape recorder on the old people. One day, Clarence (Michael Caine) arrives almost running him over with his van. He's a magician suffering from the lost of his love. The two bitter souls find friendship and salvation in each other.It's a little dark comedy. The movie is best with Michael Caine and the little kid together. It would have been great if they take off on an extended road trip away from that grim home. It would have given Caine more screen time and the home is too grim. Caine does big emotional acting although it could have been great to have more broad comedy. Caine and the kid are good together. There are a couple of big powerful acting scenes for Caine.

Tracing a story between an old man and boy should induce narcolepsy. Although Caine takes the plaudits, and he is a good character actor, this works, and can only really succeed with Milner, who is very good. He is angry and confused but once he settles on the friendship with Caine he shifts and the relationship between the two opens out.It is a bit predictable but it works with the actors, the interchange between them is critical and in this case it does as Caine and Milner react with each other, making it possible for the audience to read their relationship.The other actors, some respected names, are not used as well as they could have been. There were other stories to tell there and its missed. The parents are fine, seen through the boy's eyes.The setting and mood is very well evoked: all dusty and damp with the second best of everything.

Set in the 1980s seaside England, this film can be a great coming-of-age story with authenticity and may give a sense of nostalgia for some.Bill Milner plays 10-year-old Edward, who is a curious child full of questions about ghosts and death. This story is about Edward's childhood in a old people's home run by his parents. As the story develops, Edward develops a special bond with Clarence, played by the amazing Michael Caine.The start of the movie gives us a nice description of Edward's life and introduces us to a lot of characters in the house. The ghost hunting parts make the film a bit far-stretched from its theme but the films gets a lot better later. We get to know Clarence more, and we can see his life portrayed by Michale Caine's outstanding performance. Caine's acting is a great strength of the film, and it totally brings out Clarence's character to the audience. Milner also does a good job acting a kid full of curiosity and inner kindness. Clarence has a huge regret in his life. It is about his wife. We can see Edward's kindness as he tries to help him heal that wound in his heart.This film is an invaluable lesson about life and death. The bond a young kid and an old man share can be very special. As the scenes move on, Edward is seen to grow and learn a lot of things from Clarence. It is incredible to see that this film succeeds in displaying that quality of life experience. The young have a lot to learn from the old who have much more experience in their life. The other way around, old people who are sometimes not their old self anymore can often use that energy from the young.This film covers a lot of things and I am sure different people can learn different things from it. Anyway, people looking for an exciting drama is not going to like this. But if you are looking for is an inspiring drama that gives you something to think about, this is a good choice for you. For me, Caine's performance alone is enough to make the time worthwhile.

What a pure delight this film was.Maybe its because I also grew up in the 80's (albeit not in an old folks home) that the twinge of nostalgia attached to this film drew me in more than others. The decor was instantly recognisable and reminiscent of my grandparents house! I am a stereotypical British Michael Caine fan so I am unashamedly biased but all that considered I genuinely believe this to be one of his shinning moments.The script was well structured & the direction natural - I believed in those characters, in fact I almost felt like I might have met some of them a long time ago.Funny, touching, charming and yes most definitely a bit sad but sad in the nicest and most uplifting way possible.Was this a comedy, was it a drama??? I'm not sure, what I am sure about is that there aren't enough films like this.If you like run of the mill Hollywood films you wont like this – if you like films with a touch of humanity that make you think a little, go see it - trust me.