About a Boy (2002)
The only reason I saw this movie was that I found the name somewhat intriguing. It was lying there in my hard disk for quite some time now & each time I saw it, I decided to see it sometime later. Yesterday I finally thought of giving it a go & I tell you, I don’t regret my decision. The movie starts with two parallel stories running independent of each other. One is about a man (Will) who does nothing. He is living his life in seclusion and believes that “every man is an island”. He believes in living alone and devotes all his time entirely on himself. The reason behind his doing nothing is a very popular song written by his dad, the royalties of which give him enough moolah to live a comfortable life. He has divided his time into “units” and allocates some units to all the daily chores of his. Like one unit for breakfast, one for bathing, two for watching TV, etc. The other story is about a little boy (Marcus) who lives with his mother. This boy finds himself constantly bullied by other children at school and finds everything going against him. His mother is constantly depressed and has lost all interest towards life. 
Starting with a parallel depiction of the two lives, the movie brings both the characters together when Will, who suddenly discovers that it’s much more fun & hassle free to date divorced women, finds himself at SPAT (Single Parents A Together), where Marcus has arrived with his mother’s friends. Will goes for an outing with the lady and Marcus accompanies them. This is where they come to know each other. While dropping Marcus on the way back to his home, Will finds out that Marcus’ mother has attempted suicide. After this incident Marcus realizes that her mother is too lonely once he leaves home & he needs some backup. So he tries fixing Will and his mother, which eventually doesn’t work, but in the process he develops good friendship with Will. The movie then revolves around how Will helps Marcus develop a high self esteem and how the mother-son relation becomes stronger and happier.
The movie along with a decent story line has some very good performance given by Hugh Grant (Will) and Nicholas Hoult (Marcus). Their performances are very spontaneous and never during the entire 120 odd minutes do they give u a chance to yawn. It’s a mixture of comedy and drama and a saga worth watching. And as I always do with the movies I watch, I learnt some lessons from this one too. It teaches you to be yourself no matter what other people think. To be happy in your happiness and of those whom you love. It inspires you to help others who are in need and to live a life directed outwards, towards the happiness of others.
My Rating: $$$
Cast: Hugh Grant, Nicholas Hoult, Toni Collete, Rachel Weisz
Directed by: Chris & Paul Weitz
Genre: Drama/Comedy
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