Son of Rambow

Review By Rowan Harrison

They say the biggest form of flattery is imitation. Son of Rambow is one of these fanciful imaginative works taking us back to the nostalgia of the 1980’s.  Son of Rambow’s primary source of inspiration is based on Sylvester Stallone’s 1982 film Rambo, where a Vietnam veteran is hunted down like an animal, in a small mountain town, “they drew first blood not me.” 

Having just screened at the Newport Beach Film Festival, Son of Rambow is a British coming of age comedy that tells the tale of two young lads who have the fanciful notion of making their own action adventure film.  Inspired by a local young film makers competition, Lee Carter goes about making a film based on the film Rambo.  However, he needs more then himself to complete his project and this is where the creative collaboration and endearing friendship develops.

William is a very quiet, shy, and artistic young fellow being raised by his mom, in a strict religious faith called the Plymouth Brethren.  Being barred from television and radio he spends most of his time sheltered from society as he doodles away in a dimly lit shed. He carries a bible, but instead of engrossing himself with daily spiritual feedings, he uses the pages between Genesis and Revelations as a sketchbook for his creative meanderings.

On the opposite end of the character spectrum is Lee Carter, who is a bit brash, a trouble maker of sorts, who is always getting into mischief at school.   Besides being boys with a penchant for getting lost within themselves, Lee and William have many things in common. 

Carter naturally brings William into his world, with a tennis ball to the head, a broken gold fish bowl and the fine art of being a bully, achieves the much needed collaboration and friendship together.  Carter lives near an abandoned energy plant which has the ghostly appearance of Three Mile Island.  His caretaker is his pretentious self-absorbed older brother who either ignores him or orders him around. Using the older brother’s camera equipment Carter starts using William as his stunt person and they begin shooting a story that involves Rambo rescuing his father.  At the same time, William becomes wildly fascinated as he watches a bootleg copy of Rambo and it becomes the focal point of his dreams and imagination.

Now, let’s not forget about the other school mates inhabiting their odd ball world, involving a cool foreign exchange student from France.  Flamboyant as the French are, Didier Revol steps off the bus looking like a cross between, Dexy’s Midnite Runners and Adam Ant. Yet, he catches the attention and admiration of the local English kids, (think of the 1985 ensemble from The Goonies), who parade and follow their new found hero around like a bunch of groupies. 

William spends more time with Lee making the film, this become apparent to Will’s mother and their church leader, Father Joshua, who notices a change in Will’s character, “William you are bringing shame to this family.”  This puts Will in a tough spot, as he has to make up excuses to his family. Another expected situation arises when the bored Didier wants to be involved in the film, “you live by the gun you will die by the gun, I will be the star of the movie.”  Soon Carter and Will’s little two man production, morphs into a huge endeavor involving the whole smorgasbord of kids, which in many ways alienates Carter, while creating a wedge between him and Will.

Son of Rambow is well written and directed by Garth Jenning.  It is a tidy, yet amusing independent English comedy that pays homage to the New Wave pop culture of the 80’s, a definite cherished motif, especially for someone like myself, who currently lives on a heavy dose of 80’s music, film and culture.   The film has many wonderful qualities about it.  It has a sound dramatic structure that has all the components of a good story, which includes its broad range of personalities and quirky characters.  

Yet, its most amusing moments are between Lee and Will, as they go about in fantasy land dressed in army fatigues while putting the bits and pieces of their film together. Dreamy and light-hearted at times the film, examines the cornerstones of friendship, faith, family and the magical imaginary journey of film making.  Son of Rambow relies on surreal humor and cultural references, yet achieves a wider perspective beyond the flip book drawings of Wil, which are the humbling beginnings of grandeur achievements.