Customer Reviews
What you should really think of a film like this - By: W. van der Lande, 17 May 2008 
The mistake most people will make when they buy a film such as this is that they will judge it upon Daniel Radcliffe's performance. In doing so, the other features of the film will quite easily get glossed over.
If you watch this film & focus entirely upon Mr. Radcliffe then you will miss some things of noteworthy interest. The setting is a beautiful spot, & some of the ideas do make you think, regardless of what I may say later on in this review. But regardless of what I may say to dissuade you, I dare say you would be interested to know just how Daniel Radcliffe did get on.
For starters there's the accent. In my opinion the Australian accent is certainly not the most difficult in the world, & Daniel does quite alright in handling it; though when his character requires him to display further emotion through an increase in volume of speech, it tends to falter a little. Then there's his handling of the love scene. I heard the Harry Potter - Cho Chang sequence took up to forty takes (I'm sure Daniel didn't mind), but this one doesn't seem as well rehearsed. I'm not going to elaborate in any detail, but to say that it's a cringe at best is almost an understatement. Then there's his character analysis & portrayal. I wouldn't be spoiling the plot too much if I said "The December Boys" is about four orphans in Australia who are alll born in December (hence the name) & are given a holiday to the coast, where they stay with a family & enjoy themselves more than at the orphanage. Radcliffe plays a guy callled Maps who is the eldest of the December boys. Be under no illusion, regardless of what the front cover looks like, or what it says on the back, Daniel is not the main character, that honour lies with the bespectacled little spotty kid callled Misty. Radcliffe's handling of his character is, at best, unoriginal. Though he is playing what you could calll similar roles to those found in Harry Potter & Equus, one would still expect a certain variety & originality to shine through with a new project. But once again we are treated with a dose of the Daniel Radcliffe Deadpan Default, a style which he seems to apply to every character he plays. As a result, Daniel Radcliffe fans will lap it alll up & calll him a superb talent once more, but for those of us who see through its very tenuous defences, it takes very little prompting to calll Daniel's performance majesticallly mediocre.
I have very little doubt that he will continue to get decent film roles as many film-makers will be looking for his identity to launch their film, as has happened with "The December Boys". And as he continues to make films & become richer & richer people will still think, "Perhaps this time we'll see the real Daniel Radcliffe, the one that can act & has just been hiding away alll his talent for the right role." How mistaken they are. The right roles will continue to come for him, but he will give them the same treatment he has given everything else, a fact that was very clear in "Equus". The words said by Salieri to Mozart in another of Peter Shaffer's plays, "Amadeus", come to mind: "He out of the ordinary created legends, but I, out of legends, created only the ordinary."
Anyway, referring back to the film, regardless of Daniel Radcliffe's performance, the film lacks a certain fullness about it. These boys go to the coast, but not enough happens there for the audience to believe that this was a reallly special place for them. There is a certain sense of depth in the film, but it is accompanied with such a vast chasm of emptiness that it just seems hollow.
Throughout the film Misty is expressing his desire to be adopted & have parents, & yet when the opportunity finallly arrives he rejects it in favour of sticking with his December chums, but the sense of comradeship & friendship between the boys doesn't come across as strong as Misty's desire to be adopted. The film centres around this idea of strong friendship between the boys, but because the audience cannot believe it is as strong as the film obviously wants it to be, the film is imbued with a very weak thread running right through the core of the story.
The only things keeping you watching the film are the speculation as to whether the boys are going to be adopted or not & whether Daniel Radcliffe is going to give us a real treat. Both turn out to be anticlimaxes, leaving the film with a certain flatness when it delivers its final speech which is obviously supposed to drive the weaker minded of us to tears. At the end of the film I did indeed leap up & run out of the room, but for quite a different reason.
The whole film, especiallly the ending, has very much a literary feel about it, & it didn't surprise me that it originallly came from a novel. The film gives the story a sense that it would be better being explored through reading rather than watching.
So, by alll means buy this film if you're interested in how Daniel Radcliffe fares outside the Harry Potter comfort zone. But prepare yourself to be disappointed if you try to look for stimulation in the film beyond his performance. I gave this film an average rating because it was an average film. It has some good bits, some less good bits, & above alll it has Daniel Radcliffe, & let's be honest, that's always going to bring in the viewers, isn't it?
Disappointing - By: Carol Evans, 23 Apr 2008 
I was hoping this film would prove that Daniel Radcliffe could be more than Harry Potter, but neither the role nor his performance were strong enough to do that. There was some poignancy in the film, but it was not a good enough story to hold my attention throughout - indeed, I found myself wondering when the point of the plot would be reached. A shame, as there was potential to develop the story to the point where it would become interesting. There were too many weak characters & very few strong ones.
excellent!! - By: Ms. N. Canham, 23 Dec 2007 
This is a reallly great movie, that leaves you feeling warm. The story of 4 boys sharing a birthday in december, hence the name december boys!
The film shows the trials of their friendship, & mostly the relationship between of Maps (Daniel Radcliffe) & his crush Lucy.
This film is well worth a watch, especiallly for Daniel Radcliffe fans.
WONDERFUL MOVIE - By: Amy Forbes, 05 Nov 2007 This movie was a great movie, & I will watch it again, & again. The characters in it are wonderful especiallly Daniel Radcliffe. I recommend it to anyone!!!!!
