CS Weekly Archive > Weekend Read > 09/14/07

Growing Up Is Hard to Do

By peter clines

December Boys

Screenplay by Marc Rosenberg
Based on the novel by Michael Noonan

Misty (Lee Cormie), Spit (James Fraser), Spark (Christian Byers), and Maps (Daniel Radcliffe) are the December Boys, four orphans from central Australia lumped together because of their common birth month and also the first to get a simple vacation on the seashore. Here they discover the wonder of this small cove, its community…and the possibility of one of them being adopted. Based on the young-adult novel of the same name, the screenplay by Marc Rosenberg (Dingo) slightly updates the story (moving it from the '30s to the '60s) but recognizes that most of the elements are timeless and need little alteration. This is a classic coming-of-age story in the vein of Stand By Me, showing us a point in time when the boys learn about love, death, and family. Perhaps most importantly, it also shows the often hard-taught lesson that sometimes the striving in these ventures is worth far more than the actual achievement. While there aren't many unexpected twists, the story is executed well enough to be worth a watch.

December Boys
Warner Independent
Rated PG-13; 105 min.

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Peter Clines has had a lifelong love affair with the movies. He grew up in New England, where he studied English literature and education, and now lives and writes somewhere in Southern California. If anyone knows exactly where, he would appreciate a few hints.

December Boys courtesy Warner Independent

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