About a Boy – Parental (Recommendation)

Year: 2002

Directors: Chris Weitz & Paul Weitz

Starring: Nicholas Hoult, Hugh Grant, Toni Collette, Rachel Weisz, Natalia Tena, Sharon Small, Victoria Smurfit, Augustus Prew, Isabel Brook, Nicholas Hutchison, Peter McNicholl

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-apwoGTpi7E

 

 

About a Boy is a film adaptation of Nick Hornby’s novel of the same name, which is highly reflected in the dual narration and internal thoughts of the main characters, Will (Hugh Grant) and Marcus (Nicholas Hoult). The film is set in central London, where the two happen to meet when Will tries to con a single mother’s into dating. Much to Will’s resistance, he and Marcus become friends and the two impart valuable information and skills onto one another.

 

This is a film that questions what it really means to be a parent. Is a parent someone who births you? Or is it someone who listens and is there for you? Will is a childless Casanova who lives off of his father’s musical success. That being said, when Marcus comes to him for asylum, Will (eventually) opens his door. When Marcus is bullied, Will gives advice. When Marcus is mugged, Will replaces his shoes. For someone who appears not to like children, Will displays a high level of competence in guiding Marcus, whose mother (Toni Collette) is suffering from depression. Unfortunately, she is clouded by her illness, so is unable to see the extent of Marcus’s struggle.

 

On the other hand, through Marcus’s perspective it is evident that Will is frozen within an immature bachelor version of himself. One of the opening lines in the film is Will disputing the Jon Bon Jovi lyric “no man is an island”. He argues that, in this day and age, we no longer need to rely on others. However, through their friendship, Marcus helps Will to build on and create deeper relationships. By the end of the film, Will compromises and says that “every man is an Island, but lately, so men are a part of island chains”. The two end up being mentors, “parenting” each other on how to be cooler, mature, and less lonely. This is no more apparent than when Will says, “I created a monster, or maybe he created me”.

 

There is an African proverb that says “it takes a village to raise a child”, which is the idea at the core of this film. When Fiona, Marcus’s mother can’t cope, Marcus finds solace with Will. About a Boy shows that you don’t have to be a biological mother/father or a blood relative to parent someone; parenting is about being emotionally and physically present for someone else, and it doesn’t have to just be a child – adult scenario, as we can all care and guide those around us. One of Hoult’s last lines in the film is “I don’t think couples are the future, you need more than that, you need backup”, which succinctly sums up that we take something from every person we meet, every experience, and interaction, as growth isn’t something that stops, but evolves.