Set in a stagnant nursing home in a Northern seaside town in the 1980’s, we meet our protagonist Edward (Bill Milner); a morbidly obsessed 10 year old boy. Labelled as ‘weird’ by his class mates, and with only his overworked mother (Anne-Marie Duff) and narcissistic father (David Morrissey) to interact with; Edward resorts to recording the elderly residents in their sleep with the eager anticipation that one of them will eventually croak it. Edward confesses to his concerned mother: “I’m not scared. I just want to know what happens.”
Life in the fusty care home is soon shattered with the arrival of rowdy retired magician The Amazing Clarence (Michael Caine). This captivating performance is a million miles away from the slick, ultra-cool Casanova played by Caine in his youth in films such as Alfie and The Italian Job.
85-year-old Clarence is a loner, and is more than content spending his last years living in his cramped campervan. Although he retaliates against being put in the nursing home, his objections go unheard as he is forced to surrender his independence and reside there until his dying day. However it soon becomes apparent that Clarence is in urgent need of care as his mind begins to slip away as he succumbs to Alzheimer’s.
Clarence and Edward are both lovable yet miserable characters, frequently indulging in self-pity and bitterness. Yet as the film unfolds they strike up an unconventional friendship and their hard exteriors soften as they come to depend on each other. However the thing that really bonds them is their overwhelming loneliness and desperate yearning for someone or something. Whilst Clarence longs for his deceased wife’s forgiveness, Edward wallows in frustration as his incapability to leave the stuffy senior citizen’s residence he calls home.
Edward, already a child exposed to death and the breakdown of his parent’s marriage, now embraces a volatile relationship with this elderly man as he tries to guide him though the loss of his wife and resentment about his own life, all through the fog of senile debenture. In the meantime Clarence takes pity on Edward as he notes his inability and unwillingness to interact with other children. Clarence teaches Edward magic tricks and watches his confidence grow as he begins to make friends.
This is a film about humanity, and will drag you through numerous highs and lows; yet you’ll still leave with a smile on your face and a sense of optimism regarding the afterlife. This heart-felt film is packed with good-old English acting: gritty, poignant and with a faultless sense of humour. A talented cast portray a mis-mash of characters; all desperate, lonely and struggling with their own demons. And central to this is the unconventional yet beautiful friendship between an elderly man and a young boy.
