Secondhand Lions Review
by Bob Bloom (bobbloom AT iquest DOT net)September 19th, 2003
SECONDHAND LIONS (2003) Starring Michael Caine, Robert Duvall, Haley Joel Osment, Kyra Sedgwick, Nicky Katt, Josh Lucas, Michael O'Nell, Deidre O'Connell, Eric Balfour, Christian Kane, Kevin Haberer, Emmanuelle Vaugier and Adam Ozturk. Music by Patrick Doyle. Written and directed by Tim McCanlies. Rated PG.
Two old pros, Robert Duvall and Michael Caine, effortlessly embrace your emotions in Secondhand Lions.
This seen-it-all-before family melodrama gets a fresh coat of paint because of the natural performances by Duvall and Caine, who play free-soul brothers Garth and Hub McCaan.
The story, set in rural Texas in the early 1960s, deals with the relationship between the elderly brothers and their great-nephew, Walter (Haley Joel Osment), who is foisted on the men by Walter's selfish, scheming mother, Mae (Kyra Sedgwick).
Garth (Caine) and Hub (Duvall) don't know what to do with the boy, who feels abandoned as well as afraid of the two gruff and eccentric men.
But slowly, Walter comes to appreciate and understand the men, especially as he learns about their exotic past, and the woman whom Hub mourns.
Secondhand Lions is a character-driven story that sometimes sputters, but doesn't really run out of gas until the last couple of anti-climatic minutes.
While the movie tugs at your heartstrings as you are watching, outside the theater you realize some of the feature's shortcomings.
For instance, the turnaround time from Garth and Hub's initial objections to acceptance of Walter is rather quick, and no explanation is given for their sudden change of heart.
The most lively sequences of Secondhand Lions are the flashbacks to Hub's swashbuckling youth in northern Africa and his romance with a desert princess. These scenes, narrated by Garth, have a fairy tale quality that is captivating.
One of the film's major plot points centers on various greedy relatives, including Walter's mother, trying to find the source of the ceaseless cache of money that Garth and Hub have at their disposal.
Duvall, of course, wears Hub like a glove. Playing these Texan codgers is almost second nature to Duvall, who wears these characters like an old comfortable pair of Levi's.
Caine has a bit of a problem with his accent, you can discern a touch of Liverpool in his twang, but he compensates by presenting a warm, compassionate portrait.
Osment, in his first, teen-age role, continues to mature as an actor. He seems unsure and ill at ease at playing an emotionally bruised young man thrown into unfamiliar circumstances, but as his Walter gains confidence, so does Osment in his performance.
Sedgwick is too cartoonish as his gold-digger, self-centered mother.
Secondhand Lions can be enjoyed by the entire family. It exudes warmth, humor and thrills. At some points it drags as writer-director Tim McCanlies lets some scenes run too long.
However, that should not keep you from enjoying this touching drama.
Bob Bloom is the film critic at the Journal and Courier in Lafayette, IN. He can be reached by e-mail at [email protected] or at [email protected]. Other reviews by Bloom can be found at www.jconline.com by clicking on movies.
Bloom's reviews also appear on the Web at the Rottentomatoes Web site, www.rottentomatoes.com and at the Internet Movie Database:
http://www.imdb.com/M/reviews_by?Bob+Bloom
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