Out of Australia comes a movie about the bond among a family; even more so, the bond between brothers. The Black Balloon's titular character causes a lot of grief for Thomas, a kind, but timid, high schooler who was born into a military family who, as most military families do in films, move a lot. Will Thomas have a shot at a normal life? To him, that all depends on his brother.
The story focuses on the teetering relationship between Thomas and his brother Charlie, who is autistic and has been diagnosed with ADD. With his special needs, Charlie is a handful, but systems are in place and methods are used to ensure the whole family gets along relatively effortlessly. The cornerstone of said systems and methods is the mother, Maggie, played by Toni Collette, a ferociously terrific actor who molds herself into a mother who convincingly displays two different kinds of care for her two different children. Every scene with her is an instant gem.
Maggie is pregnant with the third child, however, and because of recent exhaustion, has been told by the doctor to stay in bed. Care for Charlie has now been reduced to the father, Simon, and Thomas. It's not easy without Maggie's motherly, nurturing care to keep an eye on Charlie, and Thomas's relationship with Charlie slowly slips into a kind of resentment as Charlie continually embarrasses him. There's one particularly hard-to-watch-but-sort-of-funny scene when Charlie storms out of the house one morning in nothing but his undies, (they only ever call them “undies” in Australia, apparently). This causes Thomas, also only in his undies, to run after Charlie through the neighborhood. All fun and games for Charlie; torture for Thomas. The film makes it easier and easier to feel bad for Thomas; his social life never really gets off the ground. High school is a cruel place.
Rhys Wakefield, who plays Thomas, delivers a great performance and makes it easy to sympathize with. Luke Ford, who plays the mentally disabled Charlie, does so with care and subtleness. The two together have that certain brotherly chemistry where it's fairly easy to believe they have lived with one another for 16 years. The movie depends on this chemistry and the two pull it off to an okay degree. The best moments the film has to offer, save for any Toni Collette-centric scene, are when Thomas and Charlie have time alone. More of those would have been nice. Arguably, though, the conflict builds around the fact that Charlie embarrasses Thomas in front of others, so maybe that's not practical. Either way, the two share great moments together, both for better and for worse.
Elissa Down, the director, brings this story to life with first-hand experience; one of her brother's is also autistic and diagnosed with ADD, and many of the events in the film—even the more outrageous ones—happened to her when she was younger. It's definitely something worth knowing, especially after seeing some of the unfathomable craziness that Charlie causes. The director crafting such a personal story so effectively is more than respectable. According to IMDb, she has directed a handful of shorts, The Black Balloon being her first major undertaking. I look forward to seeing more from her in the future.
DVD Bonus Features
Apart from some trailers, both of The Black Balloon and other features, there's a great making-of featurette, featuring cast and crew interviews. It's definitely a good watch if you enjoyed the movie. There is a montage of stills from the film...I guess in case you get nostalgic for the movie you just finished watching ten seconds ago. There's an audio commentary from Elissa Down. It boggles my mind why all DVDs don't include a commentary from at least someone present on the set. How long could it take to make? Get someone in a sound booth, (or any room with a microphone attached to a recording device), hit play and record what the person says as he, she or they watch it. It's the easiest and cheapest way to provide insight to the making of the film.
"The Black Balloon" is on sale March 23, 2010 and is rated PG13. Drama. Directed by Elissa Down. Written by Elissa Down, Jimmy Jack. Starring Rhys Wakefield, Toni Collette, Luke Ford, Erik Thomson.
