About A Boy

ABOUT A BOY, a full-on charmer from 2002, was a critical and financial success, drew an Oscar nomination for its writing, a new round of praise for “a more mature” Hugh Grant, 41, and announced Nicholas Hoult, 11, as a lad to watch. An adaptation of Nick Hornby’s 278-page million-seller novel, the screenplay was shared by Chris Weitz and Peter Hedges, Weitz then co-directing the $30,000,000 project with his brother Paul. Their efforts landed 59th place on 2002’s till tally with grosses of $130,500,000.

CHRISTINE: “You will end up childless and alone.” WILL: “Well, fingers crossed, yeah.”

‘Will Freeman’ (Grant) lives a lazy bachelor’s life in his London flat, not bothered with a job since his father made a pile on a Christmas song and left Will with the royalties. Doesn’t want marriage or kids, instead content with skating thru brief flings, using lonely single mothers as his ‘field of play’. When one of his targeted dates (this bloke’s a ‘right cad’) brings along the socially awkward son of a friend, the day goes from frustrating to frantic after they drop young ‘Marcus’ (Hoult) at his home and find that his depressed mother ‘Fiona’ (Toni Collette) has attempted suicide. During her wobbly recovery, lonely Marcus (bullied at school, friendless) forges what amounts to a uncle-nephew relationship with wary Will that bonds and changes them both. That doesn’t mean issues and problems go away.

MARCUS: “Got the letter. Thanks.” FIONA: “Oh my God. I’d forgotten.” MARCUS: “You forgot? You forgot a suicide letter?” FIONA: “Well I didn’t think I’d have to remember it, did I? Did you read the part where I said I’d always love you?” MARCUS: “It’s a bit hard for you to love me when you’re dead, isn’t it?”

Both script and direction are consistently excellent—witty, observant and touching: the brothers Weitz had earlier delivered a knockout with American Pie, and co-writer Hedges had likewise scored with What’s Eating Gilbert Grape? The acting couldn’t be bettered. Collette’s chameleonic gift turns every role she’s given into a gift of craft. Hoult had been performing since he was three, debuting in a 1996 movie (Intimate Relations) and appearing in number of British TV series; his keen-beyond-his-years work in this movie set him on the road that led to justified big-league stardom. In this tailor-made part Grant firmly secured a new stage in his career. He was as adept with injecting a simple line of dialogue with several distinct levels of droll and as casually handsome as ever, but the inexorably advancing years added a welcome weight of maturity (as they’d done so memorably for another dapper, winsome fella named Grant), a measure of expanded character depth that would serve him well down the road. At this writing in mid-2025, he’s only 64, so we can look forward to another new & renewed Hugh in the future.

To its further credit, the movie avoids sappiness or the standard “all fixed now” happy ending but an open-ended finish that leaves you satisfied by the experience of spending time with the characters and smiling over the story’s heart, hope and honesty.

101 minutes, with Rachel Weisz (no slouch), Natalie Tena (19, debut, nigh unrecognizable from her ‘Nymphadora Tonks’, hovering four years away), Victoria Smurfit and Augustus Prew.