Tom et Thomas

I sat down to watch Tom & Thomas expecting nothing more than an average kid's movie, the kind of thing that fills the Saturday morning TV schedules here, but how wrong I was, this was a thoroughly enjoyable movie, a good story that kept your interest right through helped along by an excellent cast, Sean Bean was great as the worried parent, Aaron Johnson was terrific as twins Tom & Thomas he managed to give the two boy's their own character with a strong believable performance which endeared the Twins to us, mix in some good old fashioned baddies and that victorian themed institute which is straight from Charles Dickens and you can't go wrong. This is another of those hidden gem's of a movie that didn't get the release attention it deserved by the distributor and yet provides a far better viewing experience than many so called blockbuster offerings, of course being intended for a younger audience the ending was a dead cert, but I only like movies with happy endings and this scores big time in that respect, maybe the U.K will be treated to a DVD release sometime? 9/10 for this one.

I watched this on a rainy afternoon in full expectation that it would be another predictable, mediocre kiddies' flick along the lines that those Olsen twins' churn out. Instead, I was very pleasantly surprised by both the interesting plot and the acting of the young child actor.

The story revolves around nine-year-old Thomas who has dreams about his 'imaginary friend' Tom, unaware that these dreams are in fact the manifestation of a psychic bond between him and his long-lost twin brother Tom. Thomas was the lucky twin who was adopted into a loving family whereas Tom grew up in an abusive orphanage. Then the two accidentally meet and it's up to them to break a child trafficking racket that is being conducted in Tom's orphanage.

Sean Bean is excellent as Thomas' father Paul, offering a paternal softness that is rarely required in the characters he usually plays. Aaron Johnson, the young actor who plays both roles of Tom and Thomas, is very talented for a child who very new to acting. He managed to convey the emotions of the story perfectly as well as juggle two accents (something many experienced adult actors can't manage, let alone a nine-year-old child) and two very different characters. It's a shame he's not been in more films since as he's probably qualifies as one of Britain's best young talent. And of course, I can't forget to mention Derek de Lint, who was wonderfully slimy as Mr Bancroft, and Bill Stewart, who was brilliant in capturing the crazed cruelty of Finch.

It might sound contrived but the fact it refuses to delve into the sugary sweetness of your typical American film (there's even a scene where Tom is beaten) and it isn't as predictable as it sounds, with reflection that Tom has problems down to his abusive past, and that is what sets this film aside from other family films doing the 'seperated twin' storyline.

It's just a shame that it wasn't advertised more since it's a film that Britain should have been proud to produce and it's certainly better than many Hollywood family films I've seen over the years.

The movie "Tom and Thomas" recently appeared in the Netherlands on DVD and Video.

Due to circumstances I was not able to view this movie in the theatre. I wish I had, because Tom and Thomas is a very good crafted and impressive movie.

Aaron Johnson as Tom/Thomas was a real good choice by Esmé Lammers for this role. It is one of the most impressive performences in acting I have seen in years. It would be ashame if we never heard from Aaron again. I now understand that he frequently performs at the London theaters in plays.

I hope his acting in the new Jackie Chan movie "Shanghai Knights", to be released in February 2003, will be as impressive, or even more impressive than what I saw in "Tom and Thomas".

Sean Bean also performed well, but I think there was not enough room in the movie for him to use all his talent, which is in fact a pity.

It is clear that the film was made by Esmé Lammers together with her husband Dick Maas (a famous movie producer in the Netherlands).

I personally thought before viewing this movie that it would be a very lovely childrens story, but the are in fact a few very exiting moments. I would not recomment to let children up to 8 view this by themselves.

It is clear that a high standard of craftmanship has been used.

Critics in the Netherlands were not long as enthusiastic about this film as me, but I think this movie deserves much more credit than it has gotten up to now.

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I rented this mostly because I adore Sean Bean. It was nice to see him in a film where he doesn't kill people or get killed, for a change.

I expected the typical "twins change homes" tale in the vein of the Olsen twins vehicle I had suffered through a few years back but I was definitely pleasantly surprised. It is not obvious at first that there really is a second boy. The scene where Thomas is feeling all that is happening to his twin is very well directed and stuck with me.

There are some scenes that would probably upset young children. Finch, the wild eyed caretaker of the boy's home Tom is in, is particularly frightening and there are certain undertones of sexual abuse about it (not that anything other than physical abuse happens, but still)

In all, this is a good movie for children. Sean Bean fans will not get an awful lot (though I happen to think ConcernedFather!Sean is sexy)

Mim

When i first learned about this movie i thought that it will be just next stupid story about two separate twins (kids) and i didn't take it seriously enough. Few moths later i saw some DVD captures from it and i did a little research. After i saw all comments here, ratings and stuff, i decided to buy it.

After i saw it, i was very surprised. I knew that it's good movie, but it was much better than i expected. Acting, music, story ... everything was perfect.

Last night, a friend of mine, came to my place and we saw it together. This morning, he came again and told me that he liked it so much that he even dreamed about it.