IMDb RATING
5.4/10
1.5K
YOUR RATING
An Aboriginal boy is torn between his unexpected love of acting and the disintegration of his family.An Aboriginal boy is torn between his unexpected love of acting and the disintegration of his family.An Aboriginal boy is torn between his unexpected love of acting and the disintegration of his family.
- Awards
- 1 win total
Aaron L. McGrath
- Joseph
- (as Aaron McGrath)
Braydn Pittman
- Jason
- (as Braden Pittman)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Featured reviews
Many people will see this as the stereotypical "rich white teacher reaches out to urban kids" film, but it worked for me as it adds a wrinkle to the old plot.
Christina Ricci player her part well as the enthusiastic teacher; however, the side plot concerning her sexuality was far less interesting than the main play revolving around Liam and his family. What really made it work for me was integrating Hamlet into the story and loosely basing the kid's experience on the play. That does tip the viewer off that it will end in tragedy, but it keeps the ending more realistic as well.
Spillane direction in Around the Block is great overall and just has a few cheesy scenes involving music montages. What bumps this from a below average movie to a slightly above average movie is Hunter Page-Lochard's acting. With any less, this movie could have been abysmal. He does a good, believable job and naturally acts out the part making this worth the view.
Christina Ricci player her part well as the enthusiastic teacher; however, the side plot concerning her sexuality was far less interesting than the main play revolving around Liam and his family. What really made it work for me was integrating Hamlet into the story and loosely basing the kid's experience on the play. That does tip the viewer off that it will end in tragedy, but it keeps the ending more realistic as well.
Spillane direction in Around the Block is great overall and just has a few cheesy scenes involving music montages. What bumps this from a below average movie to a slightly above average movie is Hunter Page-Lochard's acting. With any less, this movie could have been abysmal. He does a good, believable job and naturally acts out the part making this worth the view.
I'll admit I downloaded this based on the fact that Christina Ricci was the lead in it. To my surprise, it was the acting of the supporting cast that really led the way here. It is a very different character for Ricci, who has been sort of typecast as an oddball since her early Addams Family days. As a viewer, you are immediately taken in by the boy Liam who has secured the role of Hamlet in the school play. If you are a Shakespeare buff like I am, you will love the Hamlet plot lines and dynamics running throughout the film. You can see hints of that from the trailer but I didn't know just how central to the story Hamlet would be until I saw it for myself. It's a modern twist on an age-old tale, and with that, Around The Block is able to bring something new to the table.
Just watch it! I have been TV less for 3 weeks and watching a lot of online films.I just dont understand the low scores, its like people are tearing these films apart and from what is a great movie they are finding things to dislike that dont even exist, maybe it is the reviewees own narrow mindedness or the urge to 'have their (damning) voice' heard. It's a beautiful film; the acting was super and the story about 'hope' in deciding your own path when life as it does makes it difficult. Don't read the miserable reviews from the film police, just watch it.
This is an infuriatingly hackneyed entry in the idealistic-teacher-saves-disadvantaged-students sub-genre. It desperately wants to be hip and socially relevant, but is relentlessly and embarrassingly dull. It's a classic example of what happens when film funding bodies like Screen Australia become preoccupied with ticking all the politically correct boxes. Aboriginal content and cast. Tick. Female writer and director. Double tick. Lead character tailored for an American star (however awkwardly). Tick. Story geared to a younger demographic. Tick. But none of these elements ever comes together, and the result is a lame mish-mash that attempts to sell us Aboriginal students energised by Shakespeare, Christina Ricci battling racism and exploring her sexuality, and a morally confused criminal sub-plot that weirdly shifts the focus from the central characters. To make matters worse, the depiction of inner-Sydney's Redfern - which is given an LA ghetto makeover (complete with burnt-out cars and fires in the streets) - is dishonest and laughable to anyone who actually knows it.
This film tells the story of two aboriginal brothers in Australia, whose lives diverges and disintegrates because of their different goals and values in life.
"Around the Block" tells a touching story of two underprivileged teenagers in a deprived neighborhood. They got involved in a turmoil that they do not need to be in, and it is up to the drama teacher to do something to help them - by engaging one of the two teenagers to act in a school play. It is an engaging and touching story, especially because it makes you yearn for an ending which is different compared to the one shown. I think the acting by the two teenagers are good, and Christina Ricci made the right choice to star in this gem. She needs to be in good films after a string of not so good ones!
"Around the Block" tells a touching story of two underprivileged teenagers in a deprived neighborhood. They got involved in a turmoil that they do not need to be in, and it is up to the drama teacher to do something to help them - by engaging one of the two teenagers to act in a school play. It is an engaging and touching story, especially because it makes you yearn for an ending which is different compared to the one shown. I think the acting by the two teenagers are good, and Christina Ricci made the right choice to star in this gem. She needs to be in good films after a string of not so good ones!
Did you know
- TriviaRuby Rose told the Daily Mail in 2018 that she was very nervous when she got the part, not just because it was her first film role, but that she would be naked and having sex with movie icon Christina Ricci. Playing the role of Hannah, Ruby, who was 27 at the time, was tasked with being the "dominant" of the pair and said at the time she was blindsided by the fact that she'd be acting opposite Christina, who is six years older than her and a Hollywood veteran in comparison. "I thought it would be awkward and I was not looking forward to it. You know, being alongside Christina Ricci, who has been a famous actress since she was born, pretty much. I remember her as Wednesday in The Addams Family and [in] Casper. So I was sort of spun out on the idea of having to be this dominating person in a role with her, but she is a pro." When asked what she thought of the reaction to her role in the film, Rose said people were freaked. "No one knew what my role was, but then the trailer came out and there is the sex scene so everyone is like, 'Oh my god, you're naked, having sex with Christina Ricci!'"
- Quotes
[last lines]
Dino Chalmers: [narrating] We don't choose to be born, but we choose to live. Some of us choose to love.
Chrissie Wood: Liam! Liam!
Dino Chalmers: And some of us, only some of us, choose to be free.
Chrissie Wood: [as he is put into police car] Liam!
Uncle Rex: He'll be back, mama.
- SoundtracksJust To Feel Wanted
Written by Brendan Tuckerman (as B Tuckerman)
Performed by Brendan Tuckerman (as Tuka)
© Source Music Pty Ltd
Licensed courtesy of Source Music Pty Ltd
- How long is Around the Block?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Runtime1 hour 44 minutes
- Color
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