Australian filmmaker Elissa Down's THE BLACK BALLOON is a thoughtful film, down to earth with no apology in depicting a close-knit family of four (Toni Collette as Mom who is pregnant with a fifth member coming, Erik Thomson as Dad whose army life demanded constant moving, and two teenage sons: Luke Ford as Charlie the autistic one who is older in age but not in behavior, and Rhys Wakefield as baby-face Thomas in his uneasy growing teen period) - taking on living with autistic challenges everyday (sometimes by the moment).
It is a coming of age story revolving around 17-year old Thomas, how he deals with the people around him: his brother Charlie, Mom and Dad, schoolmates, new friends and neighbors. There is more than meets the eye. Thomas seems to be battling inner conflicts, dilemmas he's reluctant to confront: "Will Charlie ever be normal?" he asked. "Charlie is not my problem," he shouted. Mom and Dad are both very patient and tolerant. The family's togetherness is very much held by a determined mother (again, brilliantly portrayed by Toni Collette) that would not 'give up' on her eldest, and Charlie is treated just like any child having his (normal) tantrums and (unpredictable) antics. As the film progresses, we feel for Thomas' frustration with Charlie, and welcome the relief of his delights with popular girl at school, Jackie (Gemma Ward gave an endearing portrayal) who has no problem hanging out with both Thomas and Charlie. She (from a single-Dad family) accepted Charlie with equal normalcy and seemed to fit into Thomas' family rather well.
Like any family life, there are turn of events: Mom has to be 'confined to bed' at the hospital prior to birth of baby, so Dad and Thomas are left with the charge to handling Charlie's day to day needs - a learning curve that Thomas didn't expect. Through the ups and downs (Thomas' driving lesson with Dad in his car, Thomas' birthday family celebration 'blow out' with Jackie present), anguish and laughter (yes, that happens, if only we can laugh it off and let go more often), a new family member did arrive, and at Charlie's school performance, Thomas had his coming of age challenges and came through understanding his brother Charlie more. Director Down spares us no 'mushy' sentiments or Hollywood 'feel good' pressures - she delivered a bold and assured script (co-written with Jimmy Jack, telling like it is from her personal experience with two autistic brothers) and gave us a film we can appreciate the possible family warmth that can be steadfastly generated in challenging circumstances. "The Black Balloon" has hardly the hint of a debut feature from a talented filmmaker to watch, Elissa Down. The casting of Luke Ford and Rhys Wakefield paired as the two brothers is a godsend, indeed. Convincing performances all round.
Enjoy also the interesting opening credits: at the corner of your eyes, you could notice there are 'extraneous' words or obvious name labels of things within each frame, e.g., grass, sky, wall, jeans, fence - as the credits roll on. Ah, it's for the sake of Charlie, the autistic brother and the rest of the family, too.
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