Quartile rating: 7/10 · 1 rating
Will is looking for an escape from his family when he encounters Lee, the school bully. Armed with a video camera and a copy of Rambo, Lee plans to make his own action-packed video epic.
Son of Rambow is a genuinely charming and distinctive film with a one-of-a-kind voice — the combination of a repressed religious upbringing, 1980s nostalgia, a feral bully with a camera, and the imaginative fantasy sequences makes it truly singular. The film-within-a-film conceit is executed with real creativity and heart. The acting from the two young leads is warm and convincing, though not exceptional. Cinematography is competent and occasionally inventive in the fantasy sequences but not outstanding. The plot is slight and somewhat predictable in its friendship-tested-and-restored arc. The ending is sweet but a little rushed and tidy. Novelty is the film's clear standout quality.