Is Anybody There? (DVD)

What’s in a name? On the one hand, judging purely from its title, this year’s scariest film, Let The Right One In, sounds more like it ought to be a comedy than a horror. Using the same criteria, Is Anybody There?  should by rights be some sort of teen slasher movie. In fact, the film is much closer in spirit to that of an extended episode of a Sunday evening sitcom.

Not that it doesn’t have a dark side to it. The film’s hero, ten year old Edward (Bill Milner) is growing up in a low budget care home for the elderly, run by his overstretched parents (David Morrissey and Anne-Marie Duff) in a sleepy 1980s seaside town. With the  residents shifting off their mortal coil on a regular basis, it’s little surprise Edward grows increasingly morbid, even going so far as to tape-record terminally ill residents at the moment of their passing as part of an ongoing obsession with ghosts and the paranormal.

All is not well at home either, as Edward’s mulleted dad is showing signs of being more interested in the teenaged babysitter than in his overworked wife. And this is even before Clarence, aka “The Amazing Clarence” (Caine) crashes – quite literally – into Edward’s life. A retired magician and a widow, Clarence develops an unlikely friendship with the boy.

Unlike Clarence, Caine (now 76) is enjoying a good old age. In common with Clint Eastwood and Peter O’Toole – both also in their late 70s – he seems determined to cram as much fruitful work into this later stage of career as possible and this is no exception: it’s a decent performance.

That said, while the film is unexceptional in most respects – Clarence’s hilarious “magic act” at the home provides the most memorable sequence in the entire film – Caine is not the only good actor on show here. Child actor Bill Milner follows up last year’s Son of Rambow with another fine turn as the troubled Edward. Morrissey and Duff are also as good as ever and the mood of a 1980s childhood is captured well, even if a cast of veteran actors (Leslie Phillips, Peter Vaughan, Sylvia Syms, the late Elizabeth Spriggs) are rather wasted in a slew of very minor roles.

Ultimately, with only a few promotional interviews included on the disc, this is hardly essential stuff.  Even so, by my reckoning, it’s just charming enough to recommend.

Overall Verdict: A touching portrait of youth and old age although would have probably worked equally well on TV.

Special Features:
Trailer
Interviews with Actors Michael Caine, Anne-Marie Duff, Bill Milner and Director John Crowley

Reviewer: Chris Hallam