I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Pretty Good

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

This movie had its moments, but overall I didn't care for it. I love Clive Owen and sympathized with his character up to a point, but I found his dying wife too perfect and quite unlikeable, especially after their back story was revealed. His character seems stunned and disbelieving that he could be suffering such misfortune, never mind that he caused so much misfortune to those from his past. He had every excuse for himself and his actions but his older son had his number (his younger son was just annoying.) I did like that he was finally called to account for some of his crappier decisions, and that he was able to make at least some amends.

To begin with, I hate drama movies. Only movies I like are comedy and action, maybe some adventure. But this movie.. has touched my heart. Maybe because of the fact that it simply reflects my life, piece by piece. The opening scene, at the beach.. I used to do that with my father back when I was young. My mom also passed away and I have a little brother. My dad is a widow. This movie made me cry because I sympathize with it so much. This film is just so real. I really have no words to describe how real and authentic this movie is. From Clive Owen's acting, even to young Nicholas (who portrays the role of his youngest son, Artie)acting skills, this movie is just brilliant. In some place it even brought some peace to my heart. I really rarely cry and rarely let movies get to me. But this.. this movie deserves an Oscar.Anybody who doesn't see this film is a fool.

It's just so uninteresting. While watching the movie, all I could think of was "Poor Clive Owen. Stuck in this awful mess." He was supposed to be this tyrant of a father, yet I never saw any proof of this. The only way you would know he was mean was because other character kept telling him so. I felt like the scenes where he was so mean and nasty were left on the cutting room floor, and we were left with a sanitized version. I felt like I had seen this movie on Lifetime or Hallmark Hall of Fame. Or perhaps they blended the two together and came up with this. Commercials would have made a huge improvement.It was choppy and uneven in most places, and yet, occasionally there would be a wonderful scene that was stuck in now and then. The movie did have some beautiful scenery and cinematography of Australia.

Scrumptious cinematography, intimate camera-work, some naturalistic child acting and some moments of raw emotion elevate Scott Hicks' "The Boys Are Back", an otherwise conventional film which sees Clive Owen playing a sports writer who attempts to cope with the death of his wife. Much of the film finds Owen and his kids grieving, struggling to bond, and failing to balance personal agendas.The film heavily evokes Anthony Minghella's "Truly, Madly, Deeply" (particularly some sequences in which Owen talks to his ghostly wife), but Hicks' style keeps things fresh. His plot may be innately melodramatic, even saccharine, but the film's gentle camera-work and "poetic" editing helps downplay this.7.9/10 – Style elevates formula. Worth one viewing.