Forget cheap adolescent soaps and tacky Disney flicks, 'Little Manhattan' has to be one of the most realistic and touching portrayals of young love. The film centres on ten-year-old Gabe, a New York boy whose life revolves around friends, sport and playing referee to his estranged parents. That is, until, he starts karate class with schoolmate Rosemary. Gabe has known Rosemary since kindergarten but this is the first time he starts to see girls as creatures to be admired and he find himself launched into his first crush. Suddenly, he is nervous talking to her and cares about his appearance, leaving the poor boy wondering just what love is doing to him...
The two child leads were amazing in their roles. Josh Hutcherson, who played Gabe, wasn't afraid of depicting his character's awkwardness and embarrassment. As such, the audience found it easy to find Gabe a likable child who we could identify with. Equally deserving of praise was Charlie Ray, in her debut role as Rosemary. She was excellent in portraying Rosemary's more self-assured nature (as pointed out in the film, girls do mature faster than boys) without comprising the fact she could be just as naive as Gabe. It's a shame Charlie hasn't been involved in more acting projects since she showed Dakota Fanning isn't the only female child actor out there with talent. The adult cast, understandably, had to play second fiddle to the children but Bradley Whitford and Cynthia Nixon both delivered solid performances as Gabe's parents who were willing to put their personal squabbles to the side to support their little boy on his journey to adulthood.
This film stands unique because it's one of the few to properly delve into a child's first crush since it seems, these days, film producers think only air-headed teenagers and incompetent adults (who act like air-headed teenagers) can fall in love. 'Little Manhattan' is a nice exploration of love, both his own crush and his contemplation of his parents' relationship, from the perspective of a pre-adolescent boy. It also stands as a coming-of-age story where we see young Gabe take his first steps away from innocent childhood joys towards the uncertainty of puberty and the adult world beyond. Light humour, particularly during Gabe's voice-over thoughts, provide enough laughs to create an overall enchanting film. It's also worth seeing 'Little Manhattan' for the New York backdrop. To non-New Yorkers like myself, whose only insight into the city are the dark, depressing shots we see in dramas like 'Law and Order' and 'CSI', it is a charming reminder that there is more to New York than murders and cops.
'Little Manhattan' is a film that I highly recommend, especially to those who enjoyed coming-of-age films like 'My Girl', 'Stand By Me' and 'Jack the Bear'. Youngsters will probably enjoy it because of the solid character development and the fact it shows ten-year-olds can and do experience romance. It offers a sweeter look at highs and lows of young love (away from newspaper headlines of twelve-year-olds who are pregnant) without being patronising, overly-sentimental or bland. Other scriptwriters could take some lessons from this film so they won't continue to lump yet another stereotypical, dull teeny-booper romance flick upon us.
The two child leads were amazing in their roles. Josh Hutcherson, who played Gabe, wasn't afraid of depicting his character's awkwardness and embarrassment. As such, the audience found it easy to find Gabe a likable child who we could identify with. Equally deserving of praise was Charlie Ray, in her debut role as Rosemary. She was excellent in portraying Rosemary's more self-assured nature (as pointed out in the film, girls do mature faster than boys) without comprising the fact she could be just as naive as Gabe. It's a shame Charlie hasn't been involved in more acting projects since she showed Dakota Fanning isn't the only female child actor out there with talent. The adult cast, understandably, had to play second fiddle to the children but Bradley Whitford and Cynthia Nixon both delivered solid performances as Gabe's parents who were willing to put their personal squabbles to the side to support their little boy on his journey to adulthood.
This film stands unique because it's one of the few to properly delve into a child's first crush since it seems, these days, film producers think only air-headed teenagers and incompetent adults (who act like air-headed teenagers) can fall in love. 'Little Manhattan' is a nice exploration of love, both his own crush and his contemplation of his parents' relationship, from the perspective of a pre-adolescent boy. It also stands as a coming-of-age story where we see young Gabe take his first steps away from innocent childhood joys towards the uncertainty of puberty and the adult world beyond. Light humour, particularly during Gabe's voice-over thoughts, provide enough laughs to create an overall enchanting film. It's also worth seeing 'Little Manhattan' for the New York backdrop. To non-New Yorkers like myself, whose only insight into the city are the dark, depressing shots we see in dramas like 'Law and Order' and 'CSI', it is a charming reminder that there is more to New York than murders and cops.
'Little Manhattan' is a film that I highly recommend, especially to those who enjoyed coming-of-age films like 'My Girl', 'Stand By Me' and 'Jack the Bear'. Youngsters will probably enjoy it because of the solid character development and the fact it shows ten-year-olds can and do experience romance. It offers a sweeter look at highs and lows of young love (away from newspaper headlines of twelve-year-olds who are pregnant) without being patronising, overly-sentimental or bland. Other scriptwriters could take some lessons from this film so they won't continue to lump yet another stereotypical, dull teeny-booper romance flick upon us.