31 lines
2.3 KiB
Plaintext
31 lines
2.3 KiB
Plaintext
a wonderful little movie that is really interested in its characters and in its theme .
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the scene of " second best " is laid in wales .
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james ( chris cleary miles ) is a 10-year-old boy who must live in a home because his father ( keith allen ) is in prison and his mother committed suicide .
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james is a mentally unbalanced child .
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he can't forget what happened in the past , and he dreams of living a happy life with his beloved father .
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in the home he feels sadly and lonely .
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one day , a social worker ( alan cumming ) tells him of a person who wants to adopt him .
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this person is graham holt ( william hurt ) .
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graham manages a post office and shop in a village .
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he is a single and hasn't any real friends .
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his mother is dead , and his father is ill and will die .
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graham feels that he has been a disappointment to his parents .
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there has never been real love between his parents and him .
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graham's monotonous life would get a new sense if he could adopt james .
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but graham has not only to convince the institutions , but must also win the love of james .
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james and graham have to open theirselves .
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they must get to know each other and learn to understand and trust the other person .
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james and graham aid each other to cope with their problems .
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but will their relationship really have a future ?
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" second best " is based on a novel by david cook who also wrote the screenplay .
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the film was directed by chris menges who had made his directing debut with the very good anti-apartheid drama " a world apart " ( 1987/88 ) .
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and maybe , " second best " is even a greater picture .
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this precise , richly detailed , sensitively and convincingly directed study about a special adoption treats its theme with great seriousness .
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the breathtakingly intense film shows the necessity of human contact and communication .
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william hurt delivers an outstanding performance as graham holt .
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and chris cleary miles is remarkably convincing in the role of the boy .
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the supporting cast is also fine ( especially jane horrocks as debbie , a social worker who is charged to examine graham's living circumstances ) .
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" second best " is an underestimated masterpiece .
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it's a pity that films like this one are made so seldom .
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i eagerly await menges' next directorial work , " the lost son " , which will star daniel auteuil .
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