You find a bag of money on the street. No one sees you. Do you hand it in? Do you keep it? Like the good, moral children that we are, we all say that we would hand it in to the proper authorities and do the right thing.
But really, would you just let all that money go to waste? You could do so much with it. It does not have to be a spending spree - you could actually help people.
In the new film "Millions," by Danny Boyle ("Trainspotting," "28 Days Later"), this eternal question is finally answered. The heart-warming movie mixes a good amount of humor and thought-provoking scenarios. Honestly though, who doesn't like a movie with pot-smoking nuns, Mormon jokes,
and kids learning what nipples are
for?
Boyle's newest flick is a little different than his others. First of all, there is no need to be warned of sex, (excessive) drugs, alcohol, or zombies, as is the case with most of Boyle's other films. You might be thinking to yourself, "Pfft! No zombies? Why the heck would I want to see this, then?"
It is just one of those movies that you feel good coming out of, a better person for spending money to sit and watch people on a screen for two hours. Based on the children's book of the same name by Frank Cottrell Boyce, the story explores what people want, what
people need, and what people
should and would give to get those things.
The movie revolves around the lives of a small family from Manchester, England who have recently lost their mother to cancer. They move to a new house and start a new life away from the sadness of their old neighborhood. The youngest son, Damian (Alexander Nathan Etel) is a small, eight-year-old boy who is obsessed with Catholic saints. His imagination runs wild throughout the film, and because of his ability to see past the greediness of society, he has visions of the saints that he has memorized.
The conflict of the movie arises when Damian builds a fort from a cardboard box by the railroad track. Like any other kid would do, every time a train flies by, he imagines that he is in a rocket ship getting ready to blast off. One day, a duffel bag filled with millions of pounds falls into his fort, and Damien interprets it as a gift from God.
Damien shares his discovery with his brother, Anthony (Lewis Owen McGibbon). However, the boys do not tell their father, Ronnie (James Nesbitt) about the money, because, of course, the government would take close to all of it (40 percent) away in taxes. They hide it away and slowly try to spend it before the Euro comes into effect and all old cash is reduced to worthless pieces of paper.
This is where the movie takes its thought-provoking spin. Do you spend the money on the poor? Do you spend it on yourself? Do you hoard it and not let anyone touch it? Damian wants to spend it on the poor, but Anthony has some other ideas, such as an iPod, iBook or Playstation.
Damien continues to see saints, and among those, he sees Ugandan martyrs who explain that they would ask for nothing more than pure water. This contributes to the altruistic attitude of Damien in the film, as he realizes the depth of others' need. As a side note, Boyce actually donated part of the royalties of the original book to WaterAid, an international NGO which provides water and hygiene education to the poorest regions of Africa.
When you are little, everything seems perfect. The sky is always green. The flowers are always blooming. Boxes become two-storied penthouses. In a nutshell, life is good.
This movie tries to portray the innocence of childhood. Even though it is shot in gray and rainy England, there are always blue skies with one shiny little sun glaring down. Boyce tries to create this idealized world that all people can relate to as a child, and he most definitely succeeds.
If you see this movie, which you should, you won't be blown away by stunning CGI action scenes, or turned on by some good-looking women in tight clothes, or even scared by some hideous monster.
It is one of those movies you see with your parents, and enjoy and relate to it together. You just sort of sit, laugh, and ponder. What would you do with a million dollars?
