Son of Rambow

The world has become full of films about film making. There are so many that it's practically become its own genre. Most focus on the struggle between the artist and the money men, often with a cynical view of the business of making movies. What's different about "Son of Rambow" is that it's about young boys taking their first crack at movie making. It's about the joy of discovery and the belief that all you need is a dream and a camera. The film, written and directed by Garth Jennings ("The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy"), is heartfelt but it never quite clicks as well as it ought to.
Set in England in the early eighties, "Son of Rambow" concerns two young boys from very different backgrounds. Will Proudfoot (Bill Milner) is a member of a Christian sect called the Brethren. Television, records, and films are strictly forbidden. Lee Carter (Will Poulter) on the other hand lives for film. He's introduced in a smoke-filled movie theater, shooting a bootleg video of "First Blood" for his older brother, Lawrence (Ed Westwick). Lee and Lawrence are left to their own devices at home, a mother and father nowhere in sight.
Lee and Will meet in the school hallway, both having been sent outside. Lee because he has misbehaved yet again and Will because his class is watching a TV documentary. When Lee agrees to take the fall for Will over a broken fish bowl, Lee determines the best way for Will to pay him back is by being the stunt man for his movie. While at Lee's house a wide-eyed Will watches "First Blood." His imagination takes flight and the idea to make a film about Rambow's son is born (Will doesn't realize there's no "w" at the end of Rambo).
"Son of Rambow" is strongest when it focuses on how Lee and Will's friendship is forged by a mutual love of film. It stumbles however in scenes of Will's home life. His repressed Christian family has become a standard cliche in movies like this. Jessica Hynes ("Spaced") makes the most of the thinly written role of the mother, but she's never really given an opportunity to show how good she really is. The subplot involving French foreign exchange student, Didier (Jules Sitruk), is baffling. Eventually it meets up with the main storyline but it still feels tacked on. As Lee tells Will, "It was better when it was just us two."
"Son of Rambow" is a film with some wonderful moments and a satisfying ending, but the cliches and side roads prevent it from being the great movie it could have been. Ultimately I liked Will and Lee's film (which we see the finished product of) better. "Son of Rambow" is currently in limited release. In Seattle it is playing at the Guild 45th and the Meridian 16. 6.5/10.