Dannys Mutprobe

thoughtful, lucid direction with oodles of gentle, good humor smartly mixed up with some pre-adolescent raucousness and nope, not even a touch of smarminess or condescension. What could be better than that?

I saw this film at a friend's house on satellite television, and I have to say, the story isn't one of the better ones I've heard. Just look at this:

12-year-old Danny (Gregory Smith) is tracked, because his father didn't join the Korea War. To proof, that he is just as brave as normal kids, he tries to climb a 60 meters tall radio tower....

What a story, huh? But I was impressed how the actors made this film viewable to the bitter (!) end, especially Gregory Smith, he is a wonderful kid actor!

Some fine performances grace this completely predictable drama of a young boy who wants to climb a soon-to-be-demolished local radio tower to prove his bravery and counteract the undercurrent of shame thrown at his father by the community for not being in either WWII or the Korean War.

The boy befriends an adult neighbor's crotchety father, who is dying of lung cancer but helps the boy try to realize his dream. When a crisis looms in the film's climax, the boy finds out how brave his father really is.

As the gruff-but-only-on-the-outside dying man, John Hurt flirts dangerously with hamminess, but still holds your attention in the film's showiest role. The boy is very good, but David Strathairn as the father gives the best performance. It's a typical Strathairn role - the seeming milquetoast who isn't one in the end - but his acting lifts the role out of the commonplace by giving us the reserves of strength and shades of character within an "ordinary" man. Few actors can portray simple goodness and decency as well as Strathairn can, and still make the characters seem human and interesting.

As for the film, you've seen this kind of story many times before - usually on TV.

While some aspects of the plot of "The Climb" may be predictable, this is a character film and the characters are well drawn and well acted. The lead actor, the young Gregory Smith, is especially excellent in the role of a seemingly typical youth of 1959, eager to display his courage in a typical escapade of boys his age: the climbing of a decommissioned radio tower to compete with other kids in the Baltimore neighborhood where the story is set. He is complemented by veteran actor John Hurt as a crusty old neighbor who seeks solace in drink until Gregory's "12-year-old" character comes into his life via an arrow through his window! The two become pals of sorts as Hurt helps young Gregory in his aim to be the first kid to climb the rusty tower, slated for demolition soon. This time-is-of-the-essence element moves the story along as it is also part of Hurt's dying character. This is what keeps the vignettes of 50s America and side lines of the peripheral characters in proper scope and duration. Perhaps the most multilevel performance is that of Gregory's father played by David Stratharin, a man of evident decentness in his portrayal, and, one would think from this, in his personal life as well.

Gregory Smith went on to other films, and is perhaps best known in the TV series "Everwood", but he is at his most attractive and engaging in this role in "The Climb." Dave Stratharin has done many fine performances as his page on this site makes clear, but this is one of his most nuanced roles as others have noted. We could have done without the boobs scene between Hurt's daughter-in-law and the priest, but I suppose it was supposed to lighten up a rather sober story line, and with its omission, this is a also a good film for kids. This flick is neither high drama nor a laugh fest, and it may not be a classic, but it is thoroughly enjoyable as the rich character study it is.

While a little old, I've heard this movie is being released again on the 21st of August. I was lucky enough to see it the first time around and WOW, what a great film! This film chronicles the life of people in 1950's Baltimore after WWII. I have to say that it does a good job of showing what life was like back then. The acting is great and it includes many actors who have since become larger names such as Gregory Smith, the star of Everwood, and Sarah Buxton. I would recommend this movie to people of all ages. It definitely has something for everyone and is very entertaining. While not an action film, the superb acting, character development, and complex plot make this a film that will withstand the test of time. It's definitely worth hunting down or buying!