AniInterview Sorry, this movie sucks

Pacionsbo Absolutely Fantastic

Kailansorac Clever, believable, and super fun to watch. It totally has replay value.

BallWubba Wow! What a bizarre film! Unfortunately the few funny moments there were were quite overshadowed by it's completely weird and random vibe throughout.

edwagreen Marvelous film again dealing with the trials and tribulations of World War 11 England. What makes this film so good is the touching of the human element.This film is definitely in the tradition of such British line classics such as "Mrs. Miniver" and "Hope and Glory." As is the case with this film, we see the desperation of people in the time of war.The performances are outstanding here especially by the embittered John Thaw, who is assigned a child who has been evacuated from the London bombing.We soon see why this child wets his bed. He comes from a lunatic mother who has abused him terribly.The old man takes to the child and brings happiness into his sad life. When the child is returned to his mother, the old man goes to London and seeks him out only to find tragedy. He literally kidnaps the boy and is able to convince a higher up that the child is better off with him than being in a boy's home.The picture is so good because it deals and builds on endearing relationships.

benbrae76 If John Thaw had never played "Morse", "Kavanagh", or starred in "The Sweeney" and other productions, he'd be remembered for this wonderfully unforgettable performance in "Goodnight Mr Tom".Superbly supported by an equally tremendous performance by his co-star (young Nick Robinson in his first role), and an unobtrusive cast, this adaptation of Michelle Magorian's charming novel is a fitting memorial to his art.When I read this story of an old widowed Norfolk countryman having to accommodate a young boy from London before and during the Blitz, I found a rather obvious time-line error in it, and credit must go to the makers of this film for rectifying this error. They also must be applauded for not over-sentimentalising the tale, and preventing what could have been turned, quite easily, into a mushy mess.If you keep a CD or video library then this feel-good made for TV movie is an absolute must inclusion.

baz_trinity Firstly I would like say, this film was a poor adaptation of a good book. The fact is, it does not translate well to cinema. Firstly, they got Willy Beech wrong. He looks about 12 or 13 in the movie, whilst in the book he was 9. He didn't seem so innocent or so vulnerable and in fact sometimes he seemed a bit of brat. The Willy in the book was incredibly weak and timid and you actually felt tremendous pity for him, something on the contrary in the movie. Also, something you can't blame the movie for, but is still a negativity, is the short length of the movie. Everything seemed rushed, and it would jump quite happily from one event to the other, while in the book the point was to show the steady progress in Willy. They got Zach and Willy's friendship nearly non-existent (Considering they were supposed to be best of friends), and when Zach dies, you can't really understand too much why Willy would be so shocked, especially if you hadn't read the book and realize how close they were. And so much for the "Horrors of War", this movie definitely did not show any signs that the World War 2 was affecting anyone, even when Tom goes to London, he just seems to walk around happily asking where "Willy" is.But hypothetically if I ignored the comparison with the book, it would still be pretty average. Not AWFUL, but definitely not above the average and especially not worthy of an "8.1" rating. A big plus however is the acting by John Thaw (playing Tom Oakley) which is a joy to watch on screen. In a nutshell however, this is a poorly executed movie that had a lot of potential from the high standard of the novel.

sarahken Well, when before I saw this film I really wasn't sure whether it would be my cup of tea...how wrong I was! I thought that this was one of the best films I've watched for a very long time, a real family classic. The story of a young evacuee and his new 'foster' dad, this film ticks all the boxes. I've not read the book (maybe that's a good thing & meant I enjoyed the film more) but with regards to the story, I really can't think of any bad points, hence scoring it 10 out of 10 (and I hardly ever think anything warrants top marks!). By the time William proclaimed 'I CAN RIDE MY BIKE, DAD!' I was sobbing my heart out (anyone who's seen it will understand, I'm sure). Really heartwarming, and definitely recommended.