Kolade Agboke
Box office
The film was a mild box office success, earning $11,782,282 worldwide despite a limited release to just 340 theatres, contending with Steven Spielberg's War of the Worlds . Around $6,000,000 of the final box office was received in the UK alone.
Critical reception
The film received very positive reviews, earning an 88% "Certified Fresh" approval rating on the review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes.
Roger Ebert awarded it a rating of four out of four stars and declared it "one of the best films of the year." He went on to write, ". . . although Millions uses special effects and materializing saints, it's a film about real ideas, real issues and real kids. It's not sanitized brainless eye candy. Like all great family movies, it plays equally well for adults—maybe better, since we know how unusual it is." It was on his Top 10 movies of 2005 placing at number 10.
Richard Roeper, Roger Ebert's co-host on the television show Ebert & Roeper , called it "One of the most stylish and eccentric films about childhood dreams and heartbreaks that I've ever seen."
Leonard Maltin praised the film upon its DVD release, saying " Millions is a winning and unpredictable fable from England that will charm viewers both young and old."
Christian film critics
Christian publications weighed in on the film, many adding stock to its religious message.
Catholic News Service' s Harry Forbes wrote, "Boyle's offbeat tale—with a clever script by Frank Cottrell Boyce—features good performances all around, especially by the remarkable Etel, who displays just the right innocence and religious fervor in delightful vignettes with the saints. The script dramatizes the themes of money and its complexities and the need for societal philanthropy without being heavy-handed, making this ideal entertainment for older adolescents and up."
Sister Rose Pacatte, F.S.P. (AmericanCatholic.org) commented, " Millions engages, inspires and is just quirky enough to be charming." She added, "Damien’s familiarity with the saints and his recitation of their biographies is accurate and very funny."
However, although praising the film overall for its positive depiction of the role the Christian faith can play in a young boy's life, there were details some felt marred its religious underpinning. As Harry Forbes wrote, "The film contains a couple of mildly crude expressions, some intense episodes of menace, a momentary sexual situation, religious stereotyping, and a brief scene where the brothers look, with boyish curiosity, at a web site for women's bras on a computer." As such, he explained, "the USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is A-II -- adults and adolescents."
Johnathan Wooten of Christian Spotlight on Entertainment downplayed the significance, saying, "Those concerned about objectionable content will not find much to offend here though. There is very little violence (a short robbery scene, a very brief moment of a child in peril). Sexual content includes a glimpse of an unmarried couple in bed together as well as pre-pubescent boy viewing an Internet lingerie ad. When played out the latter scene actually has a strange wholesomeness to it considering his other viewing options. The only profanity is some mild British slang."
Awards and recognition
The film premiered at the 2004 Toronto International Film Festival on September 14, 2004.
2005 British Independent Film Awards
- Won, Best Screenplay: Frank Cottrell Boyce
- Nominated, Most Promising Newcomer: Alex Etel
2006 Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards
- Nominated, Best Young Actor: Alex Etel
2005 Emden International Film Festival
- Nominated, Emden Film Award: Danny Boyle
2005 Golden Trailer Awards
- Nominated, Best Animation/Family
- Nominated, Best Foreign Independent Film
2005 Humanitas Prize
- Nominated, Best Film
2005 Phoenix Film Critics Association
- Won, Best Live Action Family Film
2006 Saturn Awards
- Nominated, Best Performance by a Younger Actor: Alex Etel
ArtsAndFaith.com ranked Millions 42nd in its list of the top 100 "Spiritually Significant Films".
Soundtrack
- The song playing in the flashback to the train robbery is "Hysteria" by Muse and, shortly after, another Muse song is played, "Blackout". It also includes "Hitsville UK" by The Clash, from their Sandinista album.
- The song playing in the scene after they descend from the sky and provide water in Africa is "Nirvana", by Elbosco on the Angelis album.
- Members of the Northwest Boychoir, directed by Joseph Crnko sang on the soundtrack.
References
- ^ "Millions". Box Office Mojo . http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=millions.htm . Retrieved 2009-03-01 .
- ^ http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=millions.htm
- ^ "Millions". Rotten Tomatoes. 2005 . http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/millions/ . Retrieved 2007-04-26 .
- ^ Ebert, Roger (2005-03-18). "Millions". Chicago Times . http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050317/REVIEWS/50309002/1023 . Retrieved 2007-04-18 .
- ^ Maltin, Leonard (2005-11-03). "Millions". Leonard Maltin's Video View] . http://www.leonardmaltin.com/nucleus1.55/index.php?blogid=1&archive=2005-11 . Retrieved 2007-04-18 .
- ^ a b Forbes, Harry (2005). "Millions". Catholic News Service . http://www.catholicnews.com/data/movies/05mv491.htm . Retrieved 2007-04-26 .
- ^ Pacatte, Rose (2005). "Millions". Saint Anthony Messenger . http://americancatholic.org/Messenger/Apr2005/Eye_On_Entertainment.asp#F2 . Retrieved 2007-04-26 .
- ^ Wooten, Jonathan (2005). "Millions" . http://christiananswers.net/spotlight/movies/2005/millions2004.html . Retrieved 2007-04-26 .
- ^ "British Independent Film Awards - 2005" . http://imdb.com/Sections/Awards/British_Independent_Film_Awards/2005 . Retrieved 2007-10-19 .
-
^
