Film Review: Son of Rambow

Opening at the Grand Cinema today is Son of Rambow, a British film that centers around a sheltered boy who discovers new friends, adventure, and the joy of film making.

Eleven-year-old Will Proudfoot, whose family is a member of the Brethren, is banned from all music and television—even educational videos at school. While waiting in the hall for an educational video to finish, he is hit by a tennis ball thrown by the bully Lee Carter.

Lee sees Will as an easy mark and quickly enlists him as a personal servant and stuntman for a film he is making. Set in the early 1980s, Will is captivated when Lee shows him First Blood. Inspired, he writes a script called “Son of Rambo” and he and Lee quickly get to work filming action sequences, makeshift flying dogs, and rudimentary dialog.

The story is mostly fantastical, in the sense that it is part fable and part nostalgia, mixed in with some emotional difficulties for the boys. Lee’s parents have all but abandoned him to the care of his older brother, and Will’s family is dealing with the restrictions of the Brethren. There are some moments of real danger that surprised me as well considering the light-hearted touch of the film.

Son of Rambow is very much about kids growing up before video games. The joy in the creative process that eventually grabs the entire student body is palpable. It’s not about being against technology, but it’s got a pretty clear message: the video camera is a much better birthday present than an X-Box.