Is Anybody There?

source: Is Anybody There?

Have you ever seen a film that has wonderful acting but is so utterly depressing that as you watch it, you're tempted to stuff your head into an oven? If not, and you actually want to, try watching "Is Anyone There?"--an incredibly depressing film starring Michael Caine and a young actor, Bill Miner. Edward (Miner) lives in an old folks home run by his parents. Basically, the place is full of people either waiting to die or who are out of touch with reality--a great place for a kid to grow up in, I know. An elderly magician, Clarence (Michael Caine) moves in and at first, he's hostile towards the boy. But the kid is VERY curious (sometime in ways that you wonder if he needs therapy) and eventually the two become friends....and then Clarence dies. Sure, stuff happens in between, but the film is about dying and loss, so this is the main thrust of the film. In addition, the boy deals with learning that his father wants to be unfaithful and he watches a guy get his finger chopped off. All in all, really depressing stuff and although much of this is the sort of stuff we have to deal with, do you really want to see a film like this? Great acting but utterly depressing and awful.

There is a hazy feeling permeating through "Is Anybody There?" as the perception of life for the 10-year-old protagonist is affected by the impermanence of the elderly residents living at home. Edward, who has been asked by his parents to give up his bedroom to accommodate residents in the house they have converted into a rest home, struggles with the concept of death as the elderly around him decay and die. He tries to record evidence of the existence of the soul while his obsession makes him an outsider at school and in his own home. The scenes are clearly his memories: this is the mid-80s with "Back to the Future" at the movie theater and "Come on Eileen" on the radio, his parents' quarrels, the boring classroom, his anger at the situation, and old folks dropping dead. Clarence, played masterfully by Michael Caine, is a former vaudeville magician referred by social services and in the early stages of dementia or Alzheimer's, who becomes a new resident in the home against his wishes. Eventually, Clarence's bitter cynicism is lifted by Edward's ebullience and they bond but despite magic tricks and tenderness their moments will be far from perfect and they will not necessarily alter their belief system and be wiser. This movie does not follow the contrived formula of the old person/young person plot written and performed countless times, often sweetened with sentimentality and conveying the idea that both lives will change for the better. The older one, often bitter or jaded, learns to love again and spends his/her last days as a better human being thanks to the younger one's candor and energy, while, the inexperienced younger one learns the bittersweet lessons of living and dying from the older one. Sometimes, the formula is inverted and the elderly is optimistic and energetic teaching a child how to open up to life while the young one brings grounding common sense. "Is anybody There?" it is not this type of movie, there are no big lessons and imparting of wisdom. It is just a short tale of two lost souls meeting and departing and the process of aging and dying at a rest home. The scenes do not try to be sentimental or evoke notion of what is living and dying but search for a realistic tone showing the elderly and the rest home daily living under a natural light. Michael Caine's poignant vulnerable performance as a man living on a meager pension in his last days while still trying to maintain his dignity is award-worthy. Prodigious young actor Bill Milner (who was fantastic in "Son of Rambow") is a perfect match creating a delightful portrait of a lonely, confused and angry boy who is too smart for his own good. If you are the type of viewer you enjoy conventional dramas or comedies that involve children and seniors, this movie may not be for your. If you wish to watch a British slice of life where a boy and an old man come together for a brief shining moment as one is growing and the other dying, this movie is perfection.

Most great actors when they feel they have amassed a distinguished body of work tend to rest on their laurels and just churn out pretty bog standard stuff in their later years. Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro seem to be doing it of late with "Hide & Seek" and "88 Minutes" not to mention their joint effort "Righteous Kill" while Laurence Olivier long ago pioneered the process with such beauties as "The Jazz Singer" and "The Betsy". Michael Caine however seems to have gone the opposite route. While his long career is dotted with some minor classics it is also flooded with some major turds. In fact between "Sleuth" (1972) and – "Sleuth" (2007) there has been "The Man Who Would Be King" –"Hannah And Her Sisters" - "Mona Lisa" but there has also been "The Hand" – "The Swarm" – "Jaws: The Revenge" - "Blame It On Rio" (a lot of)etc. Recently though Michael Caine clearly feels he has his money made and can afford to be to be a lot more selective in his choice of roles. He has had a consistent run of well received performances in well-received films and has become an integral part of the revitalised Batman franchise. His latest choice is possibly one of his best performances. In "Is Anybody there" he plays "The Amazing Clarence" a former magician who is forced by increasing dementia to move into a nursing home, very much against his will. The nursing home is also home to 10 year old Edward whose parents own and run the place. He is just as unhappy to be there as Clarence is and inevitably a prickly friendship develops between the (very) cantankerous old man and the (very) cheeky young boy. Edward is fascinated with death and ghosts, hardly surprising given his environment and Clarence teaches him magic tricks to try and pull him out of this morbidity and encourages him to make friends with kids his own age. Indeed Edward does start to impress his class-mates with his magic tricks (particularly the ones involving fire) and he decides to have a birthday party at the home – with Clarence as the entertainment. But Clarence's Alzheimers is getting worse and he is becoming more and more forgetful, when it matters most. This is a beautifully acted film by both Caine and Bill Milner as Edward. Anne-Marie Duff and David Morrissey perform solidly as the parents while the residents of the home are played by a number of established faces including Leslie Phillips as a man with a passion for telling very dirty jokes – particularly to members of the clergy. The film is full of dark humour but is never patronising and frequently very moving. While Clarence's decline is a bit rapid - more of a plummet into full senility than a descent - it is still very well handled and ultimately leads to a very touching finale.

I had great hopes for this film, but we both decided to go to be 2/3rds of the way through. The cast was excellent, but therein lies part of the problem. Many of the cameo roles lampooned the characteristics of those they sought to portray, in the most grotesquely unsubtle manner. Michael Caine was his usual self, but the irascibility made him too un-redeeming. One looked for likability, and found it cloaked. Which rather describes the whole film. In the end the the excessive morbidity swamps the film. It becomes little more than a self-indulgent lampoon of growing old. There are better examples of the genre, often with much more acute and perceptive humour - something the subject matter badly requires, but which this film sadly lacked.

We know that Michael Caine is one of Cinema's greatest actors but the movie IS ANYBODY THERE? has secured his place in history because this latest performance of his is absolutely magical. As a fading magician, Michael Caine plays his character with such... finesse that can only come from years of experience and perfecting the art of acting. What a superb, masterful, extraordinary, and touching portrayal. If he doesn't get nominated at the next Oscar, then there's something messed up with the system. IS ANYBODY THERE? is a story of an odd friendship between an old man and a young boy but it deals with dying, old age, and death and not quite the same way that as what Benjamin Button did. The difference with IS ANYBODY THERE is that it's more blunt, instead of going for extravagant visual effects, it relies on simplicity and doesn't hide behind the bushes, even the humor stems from that. Michael Caine plays this retired magician who misses his wife, misses his great old days of fame and women and riches. Edward is the little boy whose parents run the nursing house that Clarence lives in. Edward feels miserable and hates facing the facts of growing old. Edward, surrounded by old dying people, is fascinated with ghosts and whether or not those people will still be around to haunt the place after they're dead. Clarence, played by child actor Bill Milner who was entertaining in Son of Rambow, is your typical angry kid who could use a friend, a role model, since his parents are too busy. Their first encounter isn't a smooth one but what follows is interest in learning each other's knowledge. Clarence teaches Edward some constructive skills, in this case, magic.. while Edward teaches him about supernatural world. Clarence doesn't think of it seriously but without secretly he's curious enough to try it on his own just to see if he could contact his late wife. What will happen after we die? Or is the question should be about what we should be doing with our lives while we're still breathing? Clarence's presence also indirectly impacted the relationship between Edward's parents and how they re-evaluate their marriage as they struggle daily working at the nursing home. The mom is so caught up in her work that she neglects her husband's needs, the husband is so caught up in complaining that he forgets that both his and his wife's responsibility should be focused only on their son, Edward who by the way is so caught up in ghost world that he doesn't connect with his classmates. That's the impact that Edward has on them because he would say sorry to his wife if he could relive his life all over again but time has caught up to him. IS ANYBODY THERE? may have morbid issues but it's not depressing. It often does comedy at the expense of old people but it doesn't come off too rude that it becomes distasteful. What it's trying to accomplish is to remind audience to always be grateful for what you have, the people around you and the present moment. Nothing hurts more than to live with regrets because you didn't do what you should've done long ago. If you don't get those, then at least watch it for Michael Caine's brilliant phenomenal performance that will leave you in utmost respect for the man --Rama's SCREEN--

This is a truly awful film. Caine spits and gurns his way through the film as though he is doing facial exercises but in his defence the script is so poor that there is little else he can do but chew it up and spit it out with a look of complete boredom on his face. The lines are thrown around like ad-men's ideas and the odd witty line is so painfully contrived that it practically has a party popper attached to it. The characters are so thin that they rival the elderly resident's skin for transparency and the shovel loaded with emotional reaction is so heavy that it shows every time the film picks it up. Leslie Phillips is grotesquely patronised by this film and his many esteemed acting colleagues left to wither in front of our eyes into an embarrassing dirge. Sadly, it is the rest home from hell for the audience. The only thing the film delivers is how dead magic can be in the hands of an inept magician. Save the old actors... don't go!

I lived in England in the 60's when many of these actors were in their prime. Here they are 50 years later and still working. They're not a bit afraid to act or look their age. What a treat for us and what a treat for young Bill Milner to act with these greats of British film and theatre. Quite a change from "Intermission" for the director John Crowley, but also suitably paced for an older generation. Nice enjoyable film about an old codger and a young boy. Anne Marie Duff had a tiny part (the last scene) in "Notes on a Scandal" and a larger one in a recent Irish film called "Garage." Check it out for understated acting and writing. David Morrissey played one of the leads in the TV series "State of Play" which is now a film with Russell Crowe and Helen Mirren.

Yesterday afternoon, in pursuit of an midday escape, I was looking forward to "Is Anybody There". It took less than three or four scenes before I realized that this quiet film might have an unintended soporific effect, and truthfully, I nodded in and out of the film until the final 45 minutes. Perhaps I should have snuck in an extra cola or sugary snacks, but I don't think they could have competed with the rather bittersweet intentions of the film maker. Sir Michael was effective as a lonely and erascible senior, and his co-star was also convincing as an odd young outsider, but their relationship was not compelling enough to maintain my interest. The camera caught the claustrophobic quality of the shabby pensioner's home with no romance or pretense. I especially liked a nature shot that seemed to suggest a parallel between a badger and Caine's character. Overall, I would recommend this film for anyone who is usually wide awake in the middle of the day and likes predictable narratives involving a lonely senior and an introspective fourth grader.

This movie actually is not that great. Or great t all for that matter. It's very slow moving and definitely is not a 7 out of 10, usually IMDb is correct in assessments of movies but it got it wrong on this one. I am writing this while waisting 1:30 of my life watching this movie. If you like it, kudos, and this is not one of Caines best movies. I love English movies however this one is terrible. I could barely make out everything that was said and I have seen snatch, lock stock and two smoking barrels, kidulthood,etc. If you are looking for a movie to go to sleep on, this is definitely the one for you. It will put you into a deep sleep and you will not miss a thing. The plot........horrible, the acting........pretty good, the story line...... is lame. I could have written a better story.