Is Anybody There? (2008)

Released June 4, 2009

Is Anybody There? is a small and affecting tale of the friendship between a young boy and an old man in a seaside rural home in 1980s England.

Bill Miner from Son of Rambow plays Edward, a ten year old whose house has been turned into a retirement home by his parents (Anne-Marie Duff and David Morissey). Detached from his family, he becomes obsessed with ghosts and the afterlife and attempts to record the sounds of their escaping souls as the senior citizens pass. He resents his mother for attending to the eccentric oldies more than him, and his father for being more interested in their perky young assistant Tanya. His focus changes upon the arrival of a retired magician, Clarence (Michael Caine), with whom he forms an unlikely friendship.

The overly conventional story is made noteworthy by a touching performance by Caine and the well-intentioned honesty of the characters. None of these people, which includes an eclectic array of older actors, notably Rosemary Harris as the ex-dancer-with-a-plastic-leg, Elsie, have malicious intent. Even the wandering father, misguided though he may be, is a bit of a simpleton and hence we feel more sympathy for him than anger.

Writer Peter Harness was raised in similar circumstances to Edward, and the script was partially based upon his experience. Written and performed with such noble intentions, it is let down by an ending which is overly simplistic and trite. Michael Caine’s meditations on growing old however, make it worthwhile.

3/5