Susan Granger’s review of “Millions” (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
Told from a child’s point of view, this charming, timeless fable explores how the imagination meshes with reality, particularly when dealing with the great mysteries of life. After their mother dies, seven year-old Damian (Alex Etel) and his nine year-old brother Anthony (Lewis McGibbon) move with their father (James Nesbitt) to a new housing development in the suburbs, located near railroad tracks. Suddenly, one day, when Damian is in the playhouse he built from the empty cartons, a sack of money from a passing train falls on top of him. Since Damian is obsessed with religion, particularly, the lives of the various saints, who are as real to him as neighbors, he is convinced that God dropped it from the sky. Why? He wonders. Surely to help the poor. On the other hand, Anthony, a math-whiz, is all for spending this windfall on great gadgets and other cool stuff. Certainly they can’t tell their dad because the government will take 40% away for taxes. To complicate matters, England is just days away from converting from the pound to the euro, which will render the bank notes worthless. Director Danny Boyle (“Trainspotting,” “28 Days Later”) proves that he is one of Britain’s most versatile filmmakers. Collaborating with writer Frank Cottrell Boyce (“Hilary and Jackie,” “24 Hour Party People”), he concocts a surprisingly engrossing tale, reminiscent of “Brewster’s Millions,” complete with a scary stranger straight out of Dickens’ “Great Expectations.” What makes it work is soulful, serious Damian’s childish conviction of wisdom and truth, as reflected in Boyle’s fanciful, fresh episodes of magical realism. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Millions” is an enchanting, existential 8, excelling on a many levels, including spirituality.
