Son of Rambow: Difference between revisions

Will Proudfoot is a quiet and shy 11-year-old boy who comes from a family that belongs to the strict [[Plymouth Brethren]] church. Will is forbidden from watching films or television and is made to leave his classroom when thea teacherdocumentary putsis onshown ain documentaryclass. In the corridor, he meets Lee Carter, the 12-year-old worst-behaved boy in school, thrown out of another class for bad behaviour. TheyAfter they accidentally break a fish bowl in the corridor;, Lee volunteers to take the blame, pretending that the punishment is torture, in exchange for Will's watch, which belonged to his dead father. Moreover, Lee demands that Will performsperform the [[stunt]]s in a film Lee is making with [[home video]] equipment owned by his 16-year-old bullying older brother, Lawrence, which Lawrence uses in his video bootlegging enterprise. He intends to enter the ''[[Screen Test]]'' Young Film-Makers' Competition.

WillAt acceptsLee's house, afterWill accidentallyfinds seeingout theLee filmintends to use [[home video]] equipment owned by his 16-year-old bullying older brother Lawrence to make a homage to ''[[First Blood]]''. at Lee's house whileWhile hiding from Lawrence., HeWill becomesaccidentally verysees the film; becomes enthusiasticinspired, andhe joins Lee in the production. Will enthusiastically playsdoes several dangerous action scenes, culminating in the two boys becoming 'blood brothers' after Lee saves Willhim from drowning. Lee finds Will's sketch book, full of colourfulsketchbook and glorious ideas, and starts to incorporateincorporates some of themthe ideas into his film script. The two become best friends, but Will has to keep it secret from his family and the increasingly interfering Brother Joshua of the Brethren, who clearly has designs on his mother.

French exchange students arrive and one of them, Didier Revol, becomes verya popular. AfterFrench finding Will's sketchexchange bookstudent, he asksfinds Will's if hesketchbook and hisasks acolytesto can play injoin the film, and Will agrees. Didier reveals that he has always wanted to be an actor. This mushroomssnowballs into the whole school being part of the production, and Will being included with the cool sixth-formers. Lee does not like this, as he is no longer in control,. and finally quits after a fight with Will duringWhile filming of the last sequence, which takes place at a disused power station., Aftertheir Willtension becomesculminates trappedin whena partfight, ofand theLee unstablestorms structure collapsesoff. dueDue to Didier's carelessness, andpart of the entireunstable school/crew runstructure awaycollapses, eventrapping Didier,Will. LeeThe returnsrest toof rescuethe hiskids, friendincluding Didier, but usesflee the excusescene. thatLee he has comereturns to collectrescue his brother's camerafriend. He tooLee gets hurt, and hasis to go to hospitalhospitalised. Lawrence visits himLee, but is angry about the fact that thebroken camera is broken.

Will's mother, from whom he has struggled to hide his activities, finally realises that her son must be allowed to be himself. and herHer family leaves the Brethren. The film is never submitted to the competition as they miss the deadline. The French students leave, and while Didier was popular and worshipped in Britain, his own school-mates mock him, and he is actually lonely and isolated. When Lawrence looks at Lee's footage and he is impressed,. andHe healso sees Lee's rantdefending athim when Will defendingcondemns Lawrence'shis neglect and bullyingbehavior, which was accidentally filmed. With Will's help, heLawrence adds a part in which he acts himself – including a reply message for his brother.

When Lee leaves the hospital, he is brought to a cinema by surprise. His film is shown before the main feature (much to the enjoyment of the audience) and the two boys reunitereconcile.

* [[Bill Milner]] as William "Will" Proudfoot

''Son of Rambow'' is a project that [[Garth Jennings]] and [[Nick Goldsmith]] – collectively known as [[Hammer & Tongs]] – worked on for some years. Its development was interrupted when they were asked to make ''[[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (film)|The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy]]'', and it is their second major feature film. It was inspired by Jennings' own experiences as a child in the 1980s, when video equipment first became available to the public, and the film recreates the atmosphere of an English [[comprehensive school]] of the time, using a soundtrack of both familiar and lesser -known pop tracks from the era.<ref>Garth Jennings, speaking after the London premiere</ref> The film was shot primarily in the English town of [[Berkhamsted]], and the nearby [[Ashridge Estate]] owned and managed by the [[National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty]] [[Hertfordshire]]: featuring [[Ashlyns School]] and [[The Rex, Berkhamsted|The Rex]], a recently refurbished listed [[Art Deco]] cinema which had been left derelict between 1989 and 2004.

''Son of Rambow'' received generally favourable reviews from critics. On [[Rotten Tomatoes]] the film has a "Certified Fresh"an approval rating of 73% based on reviews from 118 critics. The site's consensus is: "Undeniable heart and charming young leads save the film's nostalgic storyline from suffering at the hands of predictability {{sic}}."<ref name=RT>{{cite web |title=Son of Rambow (2007) |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/son_of_rambow |website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |access-date=2020-08-08 |archive-date=11 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200811140719/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/son_of_rambow |url-status=live }}</ref> On [[Metacritic]] the film has a score of 66 out of 100, based on 29 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".<ref>{{cite web |title=Son of Rambow |url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/son-of-rambow |publisher=[[Metacritic]] |access-date=2020-08-08 |archive-date=25 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225050540/https://www.metacritic.com/movie/son-of-rambow |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[Roger Ebert]] of the ''[[Chicago Sun-Times]]'' gave the film a positive review and wrote: "After the movie, I imagined its writer-director, Garth Jennings (''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'') being more than a little like Will, and the movie uncannily similar to one of Will's comic epics."<ref>{{cite web |date=2008 |last=Ebert |first=Roger |author-link=Roger Ebert |title=Son of Rambow movie review & film summary (2008) |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/son-of-rambow-2008 |website=[[Chicago Sun-Times]] |access-date=15 August 2020 |archive-date=15 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200815150822/https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/son-of-rambow-2008 |url-status=live }} {{Rating|3|4}}</ref> Desson Thomson of ''[[The Washington Post]]'' wrote: "We cringe and laugh at -- and are ultimately moved by -- their clumsiness and innocence. And it endears us to the Rambo films in ways we never could have anticipated."{{Citation needed|date=August 2020}} Kimberley Jones of ''[[The Austin Chronicle]]'' called it "Funny and sweet and guaranteed to flood you with good feeling",<ref>{{cite web |date=2008 |title=Movie Review: Son of Rambow |url=https://www.austinchronicle.com/events/film/2008-05-16/623720/ |website=[[Austin Chronicle]] |access-date=15 August 2020 |archive-date=10 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210410232440/https://www.austinchronicle.com/events/film/2008-05-16/623720/ |url-status=live }}{{Rating|4|5}}</ref> and Ty Burr of the''[[The Boston Globe]]'' called it "an absolute delight.".<ref>{{cite web |date=9 May 2008 |last=Burr |first=Ty |author-link=Ty Burr |title=In comedic 'Rambow,' boys grow up fast |url=http://archive.boston.com/ae/movies/articles/2008/05/09/in_comedic_rambow_boys_grow_up_fast/ |website=Boston.com |access-date=15 August 2020 |archive-date=25 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200925061058/http://archive.boston.com/ae/movies/articles/2008/05/09/in_comedic_rambow_boys_grow_up_fast/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

A stage musical adaptation has been workshopped by [https://www.nstheatres.co.uk/ Nuffield Southampton Theatres] (NST) in association with [[The Other Palace]] in [[London]] where it was presented from 24 May to 2 June 2018. It was directed by Nuffield Southampton Theatres' Artistic Director Samuel Hodges, with music by [[Miranda Cooper]] and [[Nick Coler]], lyrics by Cooper and Richard Marsh, and book by Marsh.{{citation needed|date=October 2021}}