Millions (2004 film)

Millions
Millions DVD cover
Directed by	Danny Boyle
Written by	Frank Cottrell Boyce
Starring	Alexander Nathan Etel Lewis Owen McGibbon
Release dates	September 14, 2004 (Toronto Film Festival)
Running time	98 min
Language	English

Millions is a 2004 film and book written by Frank Cottrell Boyce. It was originally written solely as a screenplay, but Cottrell Boyce then decided to adapt it into a novel while the film was in the process of being made. The book was awarded the Carnegie Medal, and formed an integral part of the annual Liverpool Reads campaign in Cottrell Boyce's home city. The film version was directed by Danny Boyle, and stars Alexander Etel, Lewis McGibbon, and James Nesbitt.

Synopsis

Template:Spoilers Damian Cunningham (Etel), a deeply spiritual young boy in Manchester, Great Britain, is dealing with his mother's recent death. He is frequently visited by his favorite saints, who advise him on how to do good in his community. When a bag holding over £200,000 Sterling falls from the sky onto his backyard fort, he assumes it to be a gift from God. His pragmatic brother Anthony (McGibbon) convinces him not to tell anyone else (Anthony does not want it to be taxed), and Damian sets about trying to do good with the found money, giving it to charities and the poor. When he finds that the money was actually stolen, he worries that the source of the money taints all of the good deeds done with the money. The film takes place in the weeks leading up to the (fictitious) decommission of the British Pound for the Euro, after which the found money will become worthless.

Themes

Template:Spoilers The story explores issues of poverty and affluence, and the place of individuals within them. Damian's family moves to a large house in an affluent suburb, where they meet various characters who are developed to reflect various aspects of society. The boys are enrolled in the All Saints School, which is located in the neighborhood.

The police officer tells everyone in the "community" that some of them will be burgled and there's not much that can be done about it. He frequently states in a matter-of-fact way the complete powerlessness of authority, offering only nearly symbolic attempts at retribution and justice, but completely unable to prevent crime or deter it in any significant way.

A small commune of Latter Day Saints tells the residents of the suburb that the only reason they would be burgled is because they haven't given everything away to begin with. The group live in voluntary poverty with no amenities, until an unknown person (Damian) leaves them large amounts of money in the middle of the night. They then proceed to purchase many luxuries, including a microwave oven, digital television, etc. This theme of money's corruption of innocence is exemplified by Damian's father telling him that if he gave the poor money they wouldn't be poor anymore, and then what would he do, take it back?

Damian's brother Anthony uses money to buy power for himself by paying classmates to be his "gang", and to impress girls in his school.

The movie is a commentary on the horrendousness of world poverty (particularly in Africa) as well as the spiritual poverty of affluence. In the final scene we see Damian's dream of the family flying a rocket ship to Africa and helping develop water wells, which earlier in the movie is shown to be the most crucial and easiest/cheapest way to drastically improve the quality of life for most African communities.

As the tagline asks, "Is anyone good?", the movie poses the age old question of what would you do with large amounts of money? Damian, after trying to help people with it, chooses to let it burn.

External links

• Millions at IMDb
• Millions at the Arts & Faith Top100 Spiritually Significant Films list

Also view the Millions Synopsis at FilmFantastic Film Festival