Childhood: the escape to our nostalgia is quite a powerful mechanism for us as adults. And yet, if you are already a child, then what escape is there? You have the restriction of your parents, your school, your siblings, and your society. Where do the children escape when they want to find happiness from the grudge of life?
Enter John Rambo.
The Dreamer, the Schemer, and Rambo
Neil Dudgeon plays Joshua Proudfoot, the son of a family of Plymouth brethrens (for us Americans, think of them in this film as a radically puritanical sect of the church). His life is centered on restriction: he is not allowed to watch videos, or listen to secular music, and he seemed lucky enough to have a mother (played by Jessica Hynes) that would even allow him to go to regular school.
To escape, Joshua draws worlds. His books are landscapes of moving pictures and dioramas of adventures and dreams that unfold and manifest in ways that amaze everyone.
So it would almost seem like fate when Joshua meets and reluctantly joins the company of the school brat, Lee Carter (played by Will Poulter), who also has his own dilemma: no one likes him in school (much less anywhere else), he lives without his parents but with three spoiled brothers who barely acknowledge how much he dotes for them. He too has his own escape: to create a movie that will win him the young filmmaker’s award. Through a bootleg copy of First Blood, they find the hero who fears no authority, and with it, their unlikely friendship.
Seen this Before?
The truth of this movie is that like nostalgia, the Son of Rambow really is nothing greatly original; it is a buddy film at heart, and follows some of the same avenues you would expect such a film to have, with a smattering of amusing side-stories in-between.
Although the plot is far from original, however, the way the film brings it all together is to be cherished. The comic timing of Joshua’s straight man reluctance to Lee’s cajoling is well-timed, and some of the best scenes of the film will still rise a snicker out of you, even if you have seen the preview several times. Even Jules Sitruk’s portrayal of the French student and victim of the New Wave, Didier Revol , will have you laughing at how absurd his quirks are. It is difficult to describe him without making him sound like the illegitimate son of Jesus Quintana from The Big Lebowski.
Verdict
If you have had a reluctance towards independent cinema, you might find some comfort seeing this one in the theater. The children will laugh at the antics, and you might too as you find the escape you may have felt when you were a little child peering into the motion pictures of a heroic superman who was tough as nails and willing to fight for what was right rather than what people told him to do.
