Saints and Sinners
Matthew Ralph

Wise beyond his years, 7-year-old Damian looks up to saints like his classmates look up to famous footballers on Manchester United. With little effort he can tell you the name, date of birth and date of death of a saint and their miracle.

So it's not surprising when a Nike gym bag full of hundreds of thousands of pounds falls from a train (as far as he knows from the sky) that he sees it as a gift from God.

Without deliberating, he's convinced that he has to give it to the poor and immediately finds himself dropping £165 on a Pizza Hut feast for some homeless friends he meets on a stroll into town and stuffing notes into the letter slot of three Mormon missionaries living in the house next door.

Of course, he has some help along the way. Saints only he can see and a vision of the star of Bethlehem guide him through a whimsical and imaginative tale of faith, hope and philanthropy in Millions.

Sure to surprise and perhaps enrage some of the hipster fans of Danny Boyle's past works (most recently the clever horror flick 28 Days Later) what is perhaps most refreshing about this film is that someone with Boyle's reputation and skill -- his stylized and somewhat over-the-top approach to mixing special effects with colorful landscapes and postcard quality scenes being his trademark -- would take on a project like this.

After all, critics stateside will likely pawn this one off as the British version of Pay It Forward or reduce it to a big-budget infomercial for Oxfam (or whatever your third world charity of choice is).

At a recent screening, a fashionable 20-something with a shoulder bag in tow commented on his way out of the theater that the only good thing about seeing the film was that he didn't have to pay for it. "I'm not very sentimental," was his comment to his friends.

Count me in with the sentimental group not rushing to check my cell phone at the end of this hour and 35-minute masterpiece.

Of course, I am a sucker for movies that explore the beauty and imagination of life from a child's perspective. Give me Radio Flyer or The War over anything nominated for best picture in the latest irrelevant gathering of Hollywood's finest.

In his screen debut, Alex Eitel steals the show in his portrayal of young Damian, but not so much in the "isn't he a cute kid" way that whenever he and 9-year-old brother Anthony pull out the our-mom-just-died card gets them something they want. It's hard watching Damian throw a rolled up wad of a thousand quid into a talking trash can being used as a gimmick to get kids to give away pounds to the poor before E-day (the day Britain is to switch from pounds to the Euro) without thinking of Jesus' words about the kingdom of heaven being for those who humble themselves like a child.

From the opening scene of the movie, Damian says it best when he compares money to a Malteaser. To paraphrase the young lad, it's the crunchy chocolate candy is sweet, but doesn't last very long. Much later in the film, he rattles off a holiday wish list that includes among other things "naturally" an iPod and an iBook and decides providing a village in Africa with a fresh well for drinking water is more important.

If the saint-like portrait of Damian seems unrealistic to viewers, his 9-year-old brother Anthony offers a dose of reality. He's serious and cynical and sees the opportunity money brings - a posse of shade-wearing thugs at his service, girls watching his every move at the lunch table, and all the latest techno gadgets only a few clicks and a bank account away on the Internet.

Where Damian wants to give away, Anthony wants to horde and invest - essentially build on sand to quote one of the Mormons next door in their brand new housing development their father worked so many tiring hours to provide for his kids (is it not surprising that Damian is unhappy with his own room and spends the first night crawling into bed with his dad?). As Anthony surfs the net pricing out gadgets, Damian takes the boxes from "moving house" and builds a fort near the railroad tracks.

In a way, the brothers represent different two different eras - pre and post-technology. While one dreams and holds onto the simple faith in saints and Bible stories from long ago, the other clings to the happiness he can squeeze from his existence now. Somewhere in between is a lonely father and a developing love interest who despite her role as a guest speaker at schools trying to convince kids to give to the pour gets caught up in excitement over the loot as well.

In the end, the loot is essentially the story. We learn from the snotty-nosed know it all in the bathroom at Damian and Anthony's school the Nike gym bag's role in a clever heist and are subsequently confronted with its dark side in the form of a scary figure who shows up at the school Christmas pageant looking for the money the fearful brothers by now carry with them at all times, the play included, in backpacks.

With time ticking on the big conversion to the Euro and the money soon-to-be worth little more than wallpaper, the story comes full circle. Without spoiling the outcome, the answer is one Damian knew in his heart all along and one hopefully those viewers who don't count themselves in with the non-sentimental set will take to heart as well.

posted [03.10.05]

2002-2005 White Elephant Productions