Hollow Reed

This film provides some of the best performances and best casting of any film I have ever seen. The child, Oliver, is compelling in a way I have never seen before, and the major roles are exquisitely performed by all. The story will keep you on edge, and the twists and turns of the plot are totally enthralling and surprising. Film-making at its very best. The climax of the film is one of the best scenes I have ever seen in any movie. Superb.

When I rented this movie with friends, I expected it to be a trite melodrama of the "TV-movie of the week" variety. But it has two things going for it that elevate the film above soap opera.

The first is the performance of young Sam Bould as the abused child. One of the best performances from a young actor I have ever seen, without a trace of cutesiness, mugging, or self-consciousness.

The second is the character of Hannah. Here is a deeply flawed woman who willingly puts her own son through hell, and yet so skillfully written and played by Joely Richardson, I sympathized with her throughout. This is an extraordinary character, and I was really impressed by the way she was handled.

The one major flaw of this film is that the two gay men are wonderful parents, and the straight couple are such awful parents...the film is so pro-gay it verges on being anti-straight. But, as stated above, Joely Richardson's performance keeps you from making any easy judgments about Hannah. She saves the film from treacly melodrama.

Potent and moving drama, finely performed and well told. The screenplay is solid, and flows realistically, without melodramatic histrionics or overt manipulation of the viewer.

The difficult and horrendous subject of child abuse, is intelligently handled, and still evokes a stunning portrayal. Angela Pope directs the film and its characters through many subjects that could involve several films, let alone one. The screenplay is sharp, the actors carry out great performances. Rarely, in a movie, have gay characters been shown to be so human, not a pasted cliche.

Don't miss this fine motion picture. Highly recommended.

In addition to its excellent cinematic qualities (including an intelligent and powerful script), this heartbreaking film's message about the depth of a gay father's love for his child is a moving and important statement.

This movie was perfect in just about every way. The cinematography, acting, you name it. I give it a 10/10 and highly recommend it. However, I did see some slight problems - Tom's (the father's live-in boyfriend) character was never really developed much, and, other than one, eh, 'uninhibited' scene of gay love, there was really not much feeling of love between the two. However, I suppose that the relationship was done as well as could be expected, though. All in all, it was a great movie, and it's 'pros' far outweigh it's 'cons'. It has achieved the status of 'near perfection' in my mind, which only one other movie had done before this.