Released 4th April 2008
“Wonderful gem that brings with it a tidal wave of 1980s’ Brit nostalgia”
Now and again you come across true, raw talent at a young age on screen. This film encapsulates such talent in the shape of two gifted young stars, Bill Milner and Will Poulter, who not only endear you to them in very believable performances, but bring joy, humour and warmth to the whole tale.
At the same time, the film is much like a tidal wave of nostalgia, brilliantly re-creating the good and the bad points of being at school in the 1980s in Britain; the desires and despair, and the much-anticipated foreign exchange memories that brought a touch of the exotic to the school for two weeks of the summer. The wonderful aspect of this film is its emphasis on imagination and good ‘old-fashioned’ playtime, long before the days of indoor console gaming, and it is this that gives Garth Jennings’ film its unique British quality stamp and magic.
Let’s hope this gem gets its well-deserved airing in cinemas — much like the character’s home-made movie of the same name!
By Lisa Keddie
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Synopsis
A cheeky, coming-of-age comedy set in suburban England in 1982, Son of Rambow is a heart-rending and hilarious adventure, which follows two little boys with a big video camera and even bigger ambitions as they attempt to make a home movie of the same name, in homage to their larger than life movie hero Rambo.
Ten year-old Will Proudfoot (Bill Milner) has lead a very sheltered life. His strict religious and moral upbringing has exclused the adolescent joys of music, movies or television. Instead he gets his excitement by expressing himself through drawings and illustrations.
Until he finds himself caught up in the extraordinary world of Lee Carter (Will Poulter), the school terror and maker of bizarre home videos. Lee Carter exposes Will to a pirate copy of Rambo: First Blood and from that pivotal life-changing moment on Will becomes so obsessed by superstar Slyvester Stallone’s iconic Vietnam War hero he’s easily convinced to be the stuntman in Lee Carter’s latest action masterpiece.
Against family orders Will’s imaginative brain begins to flower in the world of experiemental filmmaking and his innocent ambitions lead to a true bond with Lee Carter. They even start to make a popular name for themselves at school as moovie moguls. But when cool French exchange student Didier Revol (Jules Sitruk) arrives on the scene searching for stardom their unique friendship and precious film are pushed to breaking point.
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Film Facts
Official site: http://www.sonoframbo.com/
UK Release Date: 4th April 2008
Genre: Comedy
Director: Garth Jennings
Writer: Garth Jennings
Cast: Bill Milner (’Will Proudfoot’), Will Poulter (’Lee Carter’), Neil Dudgeon (’Joshua’), Jessica Hynes (’Mary’), Jules Sitruk (’Didier Revol’), Eric Sykes (’Frank’)
UK Distributor: Optimum Releasing
Certificate: 12A (TBC)
Run-time: 97 mins
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Video on Real.com
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Trailer:
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EXCLUSIVE Clip:
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Clip:
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Interview with Garth Jennings:
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Did you know…
- Based on the real-life events of the director and the impact that Rambo: First Blood had on him. He aspired to win BBC TV children’s quiz show Screen Test
- Both Bill Milner and Will Poulter had never acted professionally before, and were cast after a casting call at their respective drama groups
- Will Proudfoot character based on Jennings’ next-door neighbours’ son who were Plymouth Brethren
- One of Jennings’ relatives teaches at an exclusive Plymouth Brethren school and he got most of his research from him
- Ashlyns Comprehensive School is used in the film, along with 150 actual pupils
- For the lake scene, shot in Pinewood’s famous Black park, producer Nick Goldsmith was close by the boys in his wetsuit. he used to be a scuba diving instructor so decided to make himself useful as the safety advisor for this complicated sequence
- There was no video playback on set, so there were no monitors to make Bill and Will self-conscious
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