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Is Anybody There?
Eoin Smith

Today it seemed like there was someone, or something, that didn’t want me to see this film. The person I was supposed to be going with cancelled at the last minute because of a family occasion. After deciding to go it alone, and sitting through the trailers in the cinema, the lights came up and the screen went blank for five minutes. Spooky, I thought, for a film concerning the paranormal…

The film itself is a moving tale of the friendship between an old man and a young boy, two people who feel themselves to be outsiders in the world in which they live. Edward (Bill Milner) is a ten year old boy, whose parents run an old folks home. As the residents begin to pass away, Edward finds himself becoming more and more interested in ghosts and the paranormal, and ultimately he searches for evidence of life after death. Clarence, portrayed excellently by Michael Caine, an elderly retired magician in the early stages of dementia, moves to the home, and an unlikely partnership is born, as Clarence and Edward find their forced co-existence evolves into friendship.

Michael Caine seems to have developed a soft spot for magic-themed films, having been involved in The Prestige, and his passion is transposed into Clarence, whose rich emotions ooze through the screen and into the audience. Caine’s on-screen chemistry with Milner is superb, and the relationship between man and boy is entirely believable.

For the magic audience, small intricacies are a subtle and appreciated touch. Take, for example, Clarence’s van, which does not have furry dice hanging from the mirror. Instead, he has 2 pompoms from a pompom stick, favoured by many children’s entertainers.

Is Anybody There? is a heartfelt and emotional film, which is not without its fair share of laughs along the way. I heartily recommend this film, not only as a magic-related film, but for cinema lovers of all shapes and sizes.

Is Anybody There? is released on 1st May in the UK.