Millions (2004)

Director Danny Boyle has helmed many hugely popular films but one of his efforts that seems to have passed most people by is the 2004 film entitled Millions. Made in between 28 Days Later and Sunshine, Millions is admittedly a much lower key film than what he has done previously but it is still an interesting, entertaining and sweet film that leaves amazed that it is not as well known as his other films.

The story is based around Damien, a 7 year old boy who is obsessed with saints that moves into a new house with his dad and brother after his mother dies.  While playing near his house, he happens to find a bag of money containing almost a quarter of a million pounds. Despite his brother telling him not too, Damien is determined to give away all of the money to poor people before the euro is brought in and the money becomes useless. He starts to find out that this isn’t as easy as it sounds and when himself and his brother find out that the money was stolen in a recent robbery and the robber is looking for it, things become complicated and dangerous.

At its heart, Millions is quite a simple story about the moralistic choices that need to be made when you find a huge sum of money. Despite it being primarily a kid’s film, it’s also a story about family and getting over the death of a family member that is quite powerful at times. All the usual quirks of Danny Boyle films are here in abundance with some strange imagery and unusual camera work used to tell the story. The acting from the two young leads is excellent and James Nesbitt as the father is solid as well. The character of Damien is an interesting one as he suffers hallucinations of various saints which tell him what to do with the money and it’s clear that these hallucinations are caused by the longing to see his mother one more time. There are no special effects or action sequences to be found here; instead this is a simple drama film with a happy ending that is sure to keep you entertained.

It’s funny at times, sweet at others and always entertaining, Millions is a film about ethics and what it is to be human that really should be seen by a larger Audience. It’s definitely Danny Boyle’s least known film but by no means his worst.

7/10