Archipelago

About a Boy

(2002)

You know that convention where you say, "Yeah, it's a good movie, but it's not as good as the book"? Well, I'm a big Nick Hornby fan, and I like the book a lot, but this is better than the book, if only because, unlike the novel, it has an ending. Yes, it's a goofy, implausible ending, but it works, mate.

This film, in fact, defines for me the difference between sentiment (potentially a good thing) and sentimentality (always a bad thing). And I'm pretty sure it's not because I had a drink.