'My Boy Jack'

(Left to right) Rudyard, Caroline, John & Elsie Kipling.

Based on the true story of Rudyard Kipling (David Haig), My Boy Jack depicts tear-jerkingly passionate wartime tale of family life.

Set during the First World War, John 'Jack' Kipling played by Daniel Radcliffe, the 17 year old son of Rudyard, declares his intentions to sign up for war, but when he is repeatedly refused from both the Navy and the Army due to his poor eyesight, his father, a pioneer for the War cause, seizes the chance to use his influence to get Jack into the military, despite his wife Caroline (Kim Catrall) and daughter Elsie's (Carey Mulligan) objections.

Lieutenant John Kipling.

After a short dose of training, Jack quickly becomes Lieutenant, and a paragon of virtue to his battalion. Whilst John is away, the family become united in their shared yearning for their son and brother, living everyday with thoughts revolving around whether they will hear from him that day. Yet despite Jack's efforts, his family are informed that he is missing, presumed injured, and out of frustration Caroline pushes Rudyard to use the influence which got his son into the Army in the first place, to find out what happened. The Mother's devotion to the discovering of her son is particularly touching, though it is when we find out that the very thing that stopped Jack Kipling from getting into the Forces at the beginning was what killed him, really plucks at the viewer's heart strings!

Jack being eye tested in a military exam.

Not only did I find the story to be beautiful, but also visually; the subdued colours strengthened the audience's experiences of the solemn situation, but also added a kind of delicacy to the film. Together with the imaginative editing, so that one scene flows into the next, for example: the sounds of explosions on the battlefield links to the next scene with the pop of champagne, celebrating the 18th Birthday of Jack. The camera angles also echoed the experiences of the front-line - jolting and turning upside down with the soldiers, following their exact movements, initially acting as their eyes, (not to mention the blurring whenever Jack's glasses are removed!) which engages and makes viewers feel involved. One soldier at this point, is hit and falls to the ground, in which the camera is upside down and all we see is the feet of other soldiers running past. Such quality and creativity in films as this never ceases to disappoint me.