Five On Friday: Kid Performers

So I went to see 'Son of Rambow' in the week, in a bid to forget about dissertations (I swear that will be the last time I even mention it). I could spend a time reviewing it and saying how awesome it is. But really all I need to say is "See it!" and I'll be done.

The real point to bringing this up is the kids in the film and how great they were. So in honour of them, allow me to present the five child performances that don't make you want to strangle all the people around you, hunt down the kid and throw him off a cliff into a pit of vipers and rabid dogs. Performances that don't suck basically.

Will Poulter as Lee Carter (Son of Rambow)



I'll start with this, since it was mentioned in the introduction. Whilst the film presents us with two brilliant kids as leads, I've chosen Will over the main character simply because his character was funnier and more interesting.

He's essentially the bad kid who people shouldn't like. But what the kid does well is show us the hurt behind the naughty-bravado. It was so good to see him develop over the course of the film and one of the last scenes, set in the factory grounds, almost had me in tears.

Yeah, I'm cool and manly.

Emma Bolger as Ariel (In America)



Once again, too strong performances but I chose Emma because she was younger and got to have much more of a range.

I think if you put a cute Irish girl in peril, the audience is always going to be empathetic to her plight. But Emma walks a line between cute and annoying and for the majority of the film she stays the right side.

And again, she had me in tears towards the end, when she gets scared of her dad. I've watched that scene several times now, and it gets to me every time.

Freddie Highmore as Peter Llewelyn Davies (Finding Neverland)



This time, I have several films to choose from, since Freddie has proven time and again that he is the kid to go for if you want a great child performance. I choose this film as it was the first time he came to my attention and it was also another that made me well up with tears. Jesus! It sounds like I'm a crybaby at films.

What else can I say about Freddie which won't sound like outlandish praise? Nothing, that's what. He's just good. I'd eat my hat (after buying one) if he doesn't have a huge career ahead of him.

Jaden Smith as Christopher (The Pursuit of Happyness)



Okay, I'm going to say it straight away now. I got upset every time this kid got upset. Every time he cried, I almost did. When he loses his doll, I just wanted to give him a hug. When he was scared that his dad was going to get beaten up, I was upset with him.

In my defence, I didn't cry at 'The Notebook'!

Thomas Turgoose as Shaun (This is England)



I'll be honest, I'm very at odds about putting this film onto the list. 'This is England' is an incredibly over-rated film amongst film students. They speak about it like it is the second coming of British film instead of the fairy competent kitchen-sink drama that it really is.

I live in a house with two HUGE Shane Meadows (the director) fans and the film has been quoted so often that I hate everything about it now. They keep pointing out the fact that it won Best British film at the BAFTAs (An award that belonged to 'Hot Fuzz', in any sane world!) and yet dismiss me when I point out that 'Atonement' won Best Film and was also British. Surely, that's a better achievement?

Gah!

Anyway, I can't let my annoyance over fans get in the way of this kid being recognised on this list. He was completely believable, something which I think Shane Meadows manages wonderfully. You can really see Shaun change and understand why.

However, he didn't make me cry. Apparently, it's not that hard

:P