Guerrilla filmmakers Lee Carter and Will Proudfoot (Paramount Vantage)
I doubt that Sylvester Stallone could have ever imagined that his 1982 action film First Blood could have spawned a British charmer called Son of Rambow (opening May 16 at Landmark's Hillcrest Cinemas). But this bastard offspring displays as much feisty, fighting spirit in its scrawny pre-adolescent body as Stallone's buffed out Vietnam vet ever did. And if you think being a one-man army is hell, just try being unpopular in school. That can scar someone for life. (You can listen to my Film Chat with Dwane and Maureen, which also includes discussion of another action spoof, OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies. )
Son of Rambow presents us with two very different young boys. Will Proudfoot (Bill Milner) is the eldest child of a fatherless Plymouth Brethren family. Being part of The Brethren means following a very strict moral code and living a life very separate from the rest of the world. So that means no pop music, no TV and definitely no American movies. Will's mother (Jessica Stevenson, Simon Pegg's co-star in the fun Brit series Spaced) tries to keep her family together but Will is feeling the pull of the outside world. He has somehow managed to convince her to let him continue attending public school.
aaron soto
May 18, 2008 at 08:11 PM
Next one on my list, thanks Beth, great review.
