My Boy Jack (2007) (TV)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

Brian Kirk

Writers:

David Haig (play)
David Haig (screenplay)

Release Date:

20 April 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | History | War

Tagline:

A young man fights for his country.

Plot:

Author Rudyard Kipling and his wife search for their 17-year-old son after he goes missing during WWI.

Plot Keywords:

Kipling | WWI | Push Ups | Father Son Relationship | British Army

Awards:

3 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

David Haig	...	Rudyard Kipling
Daniel Radcliffe	...	John Kipling
Kim Cattrall	...	Caroline Kipling
Carey Mulligan	...	Elsie Kipling
Julian Wadham	...	King George V
Martin McCann	...	Bowe
Richard Dormer	...	Corporal John O'Leary
Rúaidhrí Conroy	...	McHugh (as Ruaidhri Conroy)
Laurence Kinlan	...	Doyle
Ciaran Nolan	...	Daly
Nick Dunning	...	Colonel Ferguson
Michael McElhatton	...	Leo Amery MP
Peter Gowen	...	H.A Gwynne
Brian de Salvo	...	Field Marshal 'Bobs' Roberts
Simon Coury	...	Naval Doctor

Runtime:

UK:93 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Netherlands:16 | Australia:M | Finland:K-13

Filming Locations:

Ardmore Studios - Herbert Road, Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland

Company:

Ecosse Films

Trivia:

Several scenes were shot at the actual Rudyard Kipling estate, Bateman's, where Kipling lived from 1902 until his death.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: In one or two scenes in the trenches the corporal is seen carrying his Lee-Enfield rifle with the stock in the crook of his right arm like a modern soldier might carry an Armalite rifle or a similar weapon with a hand grip. British troops in WW1 did not do this - for one thing there's no way to comfortably or usefully hold the Lee-Enfield this way unless it has a hand grip (which the Armalite has but which the Lee-Enfield has not).

Quotes:

[last lines]
Rudyard Kipling: Have you news of my boy Jack?/ Not this tide./ When d'you think that he'll come back?/ Not with this wind blowing, and this tide./ Has any one else had word of him?/ Not this tide./ For what is sunk will hardly swim, Not with this wind blowing, and this tide./ Oh...

Soundtrack:

Happy Birthday to You

Superb television

Excellent cast, beautifully shot and well scripted TV movie about the Kipling family at the start of the First World War. Premiered in the UK on Remembrance Day (11/11) this poignant tale has Daniel Radcliffe in the title role, showing once again (after his on stage appearance in Equus) that there's more to this young actor than the caricature that Harry Potter has become. His clipped and stilted performance completely captured what it must have been like to be the put upon son of a successful, middle-class author in late Edwardian England.

David Haig plays Rudyard Kipling (there's a remarkable resemblance) who many will remember from previous UK TV series 'Thin Blue Line' and 'Soldier Soldier' as well as the massively successful 'Four Weddings and a Funeral'. Haig captures the British Imperialist that Kipling had become perfectly, as well as the emotional turmoil that Kipling went through as he realised just what he had helped to achieve by sending his young son to war. Haig also wrote the original play and screenplay so the resulting TV movie must be pretty much what he wanted.

The supporting players, Kim Catterill as Rudyard's American wife, and Martin McCann as the Irish Guardsman who goes to war with young John to name two, give excellent, measured performances which compliment the two lead roles, giving the whole production a rounded, glossy finish.

This is superb TV catch it if you can (but don't forget the hankies!)