Ben (Grint) is a naive 17-year-old living a sheltered life in North London as the son of an open-minded vicar (Farrell) and an extremely pious, protective mother (Linney), who's teaching him to drive. But he's not learning much. He takes a job as an assistant to a colourful has-been actress, Dame Evie (Walters), who opens Ben's eyes to freedom and art, especially when they take an impromptu road trip to Edinburgh. But his mother is not happy about her son leaving his secure nest.

The opening act is lively and engaging, with strongly defined characters, zinging dialog and situations that are both silly and believable. Walters is absolutely wonderful--hilariously foul-mouthed, challenging Ben's beliefs ("You're so young and so pedantic!") and pushing him to be himself in a subculture that encourages conformity and blind obedience.

And Grint is a terrific foil for her. He maintains the character beautifully, letting us travel from inexperience to the first whiff of self-discovery and independence. It's a remarkably subtle coming-of-age story, and nothing we've seen Grint do before quite prepares us for the delicacy of this performance. Their strong chemistry intriguingly suggests Harold & Maude (without the sex).

Linney, on the other hand, has no shading at all; she struggles with the accent and comes across as far too imperious and glowering. (This role cries out for Juliet Stevenson, who continually adds texture, humour and pathos to characters like this.) Farrell is good in a slightly sidelined part.

Other problems begin to creep in at the end, when weak subplots (featuring cross-dressing tenant Norton and flirty curate Mulborn) emerge to break the flow of the main story and the film heads into a painfully clumsy climax. It's as if Brock couldn't bear to part with his precious quirks for the sake of the stronger central narrative. There's still a terrific story here, with solid acting (Walters is worth the price of admission), but it could have been a real gem.

themes, language, innuendo

21.Jul.06