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Millionswears its heart on its sleeve, and it wears it well. Two boys, still grieving the death of their mother, find themselves the unwitting benefactors of a bag of bank robbery loot in the week before the United Kingdom switches its official currency to the Euro. What's a kid to do? Director Danny Boyle takes a simple premise and, with the help of Frank Cottrell Boyce's sweet, smart script, finds something special to say about the hopes everyone has for the future of a changing world. Brothers Anthony and Damian have vastly different agendas for the stash, and then have to deal not only with the money's original thief but with the disarming woman who seems to be stealing their widowed father. The film is full of quirks that work--seven-year-old Damian (an endearing Alex Etel) has private conversations with a collection of eclectic religious saints--and a technically spirited way of commingling both the scary realities and fanciful imaginings of young minds.--Steve Wiecking
It's not a conflict of good and evil that drives MILLIONS (Fox), but rather issues of what's right and wrong.
Set in the UK, this exquisite family film about two brothers, serious seven year old Damien and fun-loving nine year Anthony, who recently lost their mom and discover a suitcase full of British Pounds has dropped out of the sky and crashed into their playhouse. And it's only seven days before the official currency switches to Euros.
The brothers think it came from God and they have differing agendas: Spend it on themselves or give it to the needy.
But the money, on a train to incinerators, was tossed by crooks to accomplices and they want the missing bag back. Millions is funny, scary and profound. You may even discover things about yourself you never before considered.
Rated: PG. Genre: Family Drama/Comedy. 1 Hour, 38 Minutes. Starring: James Nesbitt, Daisy Donovan, Alex Etel, Lewis McGibbon. Director: Danny Boyle.
Wholesome, weird, and dull This picture had some good potential but the director tried too hard hard to make it some kind of arthouse flick. A rather pointless attempt to remake Brewster's Millions with an altuistic slant. It wasn't a "bad" movie it simply wasn't a "good" one. Boooooooring...zzzz..zzzz..zzzzThe great Euro conversion heartwarmer The step-by-step timeline and dramatic D-Day-like changeover of Europe to a centralized currency system was a backdrop ripe for the movie-making, so writer Frank Cottrell Boyce and Director Danny Boyle have teamed to create the great Euro conversion heartwarmer. But this isn't a little paint-by-numbers deal. It's a cleverly crafted tale of a spiritual little boy striving to do good, despite his older brother's attempts to keep young Damian's enthusiasm under wraps.
There are some unexpected treats here: the special effects (I hadn't thought about this as a special effects opportunity, but there's some really cool stuff); a superb acting job by Jimmy Nesbitt (tough with young Alex Etel's cute mug in almost every scene); and a real delicate touch shown by Boyle (known to most folks as the helmsman of 'Trainspotting'...about as far as you can get from 'Millions').
There are some sneaky, little flourishes and jabs in the script. For instance, Damian has a thing for saints, and he lights up like a Christmas tree upon learning that the Mormons down the street are actually Latter-Day Saints.
The movie's ultimate success rests on this: Can the kid (young Mr. Etel) act? If he can't, the movie would be insufferable. Luckily for the audience, he's a natural and a delight. This was an enjoyable 98 minutes spent with a movie that I can recommend without reservation to anyone.
