Stars:
** 1/2
Rating: PG for strong
language and mature themes
Run
Time: 1
hour, 34 minutes
Venerable
Michael Caine is the talented centerpiece in this cookie cutter dramedy that beguiles
and rankles.
Caine is
Clarence Parkinson, a suicidal ex-magician (“The Amazing Clarence”) who refuses
to accept the hostile passage of time.
Clarence
reluctantly takes up residence at ramshackle Lark Hall, a quirky English senior
residence center run by a harried young couple (David Morrissey and Anne-Marie
Duff) and their resentful ten-year old son Edward (Bill Milner) who is
unnaturally obsessed with ghosts and the mysteries of the great beyond.
In fits and
starts Edward and Clarence craft a friendship, a yin and yang that spans
decades of differences. Clarence slowly – very slowly -- sloughs off his armor
of rage and encourages Edward to make more contact with the living; for his
part the wise-beyond-his-years youngster engages Clarence in his imaginative
games and refuses to join in the pity-party.
Behind the
scenes are a number of mini-plot points that meander with no resolution – an
extramarital temptation, geriatric sparks and some furtive hints at an
afterlife.
At its core
“Anything” relies on the chemistry of its enigmatic leads to keep its narrative
airy. Caine is the consummate pro, offering up pain and pathos along with a
dynamic dose of wry humor. Seventy six years old and he’s still got it – his is
a lovely, nuanced performance. Milner puts it all up front and over the top
with churlish exasperation and pre-adolescent angst.
Leads are
supported by a gaggle of A-list old-timers – Rosemary Harris, Leslie Phillips
and Peter Vaughan -- who gamely, if a bit farcically, give life to the notion
of letting go with grace.
Director John
Crowley (“Boy A”) shamelessly peddles the waterworks; material is solid if not
exactly sparkly.