Millions
Encyclopedia
Millions is a 2004 British comedy-drama
film, directed by Academy Award–winning director Danny Boyle
, and starring Alex Etel
, Lewis McGibbon
, and James Nesbitt
. The screenwriter Frank Cottrell Boyce
adapted his novel
while the film was in the process of being made. The novel Millions
was subsequently awarded the Carnegie Medal
.
after the death of his mother. Soon after the move, Damian's "hermitage" is obliterated by a bag of money flung from a passing train. Damian immediately shows the money to his brother, Anthony, and the two begin thinking of what to do with it. Anthony, the boy who loves money, wants the money all to himself. Damian, the kind-hearted and religious of the two, had recently overheard three Latter-day Saint missionaries
lecture other members of the community on building foundations of rock rather than foundations of sand, an old Christian principle which dictates that self-worth should be based on the teachings of Christ rather than any other object of worship such as Money/Mammon or Power. The lecture inspires Damian, who is for ways to give his share of the money to the poor; at one point he even stuffs a bundle of cash through the missionaries' letter box, having heard about their modest lifestyle and deciding that they too must be poor.
Throughout the story, Damian commits small acts of kindness like buying birds from pet stores and setting them free and taking beggars to Pizza Hut
, while Anthony bribes other kids at school into being his transportation and bodyguards, and looks into investing the money in real estate.
The story takes place in the weeks leading up to The Bank of England's (fictional) change from the pound
(£) to the euro
(€). An assembly is held at Damian's school to inform the children about the change, as well as to educate the children about helping the poor. Realizing that the money, which is in pounds, will be no good after a few days, Damian decides that the best thing to do would be to give it all to the poor before the conversion. Upon deciding this, he drops £1,000 into the donation can at the assembly, for which he gets into trouble. When Damian goes into the principal's office, Anthony lies, stating that he and Damian stole the money from the Mormons (to protect Damian). Damian and Anthony are grounded that night.
After the donation, Anthony's friend informs them that a train carrying bills which were to be destroyed after the conversion had been robbed, and that the money had been dispersed by throwing it off of the train at various locations throughout the country to be collected by the robbers. The boys logically conclude that their money was stolen, and Damian, who thought the money was from God, feels terrible.
Around this time, a mysterious man comes snooping around the train tracks and asks Damian if he has any money. Damian thinks that the man is a beggar and tells him he has 'loads of money'. However, Anthony finds out and comes back to give the man a jar full of coins to cover Damian's tracks.
The robber eventually finds out where Damian lives and ransacks his house to find the money. Damian had informed his father about the money just before they came home to their destroyed house. The robbery is then explained. The robbers boarded the train. They then escaped the police by dressing as football fans and joining a crowd of similarly dressed fans leaving a game. However, one man remained on the train. He began to throw the money off, to be collected later. The robber who came sneaking around hid in Damian's room after ransacking it, much in the way the train robbery was carried out. Damian's father, who had resolved to give the money back, decided that if the robbers were going to steal his family's Christmas, then he would steal the robbers' money. The family, as well as the father's new girlfriend (the woman collecting the donations), go on a massive shopping spree on Christmas Eve.
That night, after they are asleep, their house is bombarded by beggars and charities begging for contributions, and seeing the confusion that results, Damian runs off to the train tracks to burn the money, deciding that it was doing more harm than good. While he is burning the money, he is visited by his dead mother, who tells him not to worry about her.
In the final scene, the audience sees Damian's dream of the family flying a rocket ship to Africa and helping develop water wells, while Damian narrates over the scene that each family member but him had hidden a little bit of the money beforehand. Damian convinced them to spend this money on the wells he is dreaming about. Earlier in the movie this was shown to be the most crucial and cheapest way to drastically improve the quality of life for many African communities.
's War of the Worlds
. Around £3,987,642.22 of the final box office was received in the UK alone.
.
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."
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."
on September 14, 2004.
2005 British Independent Film Awards
2006 Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards
2005 Emden International Film Festival
2005 Golden Trailer Awards
2005 Humanitas Prize
2005 Phoenix Film Critics Association
2006 Saturn Awards
Comedy-drama
Comedy-drama is a genre of theatre, film and television programs which combines humorous and serious content.-Theatre:Traditional western theatre, beginning with the ancient Greeks, was divided into comedy and tragedy...
film, directed by Academy Award–winning director Danny Boyle
Danny Boyle
Daniel "Danny" Boyle is an English filmmaker and producer. He is best known for his work on films such as Slumdog Millionaire, 127 Hours, 28 Days Later, Sunshine and Trainspotting. For Slumdog Millionaire, Boyle won numerous awards in 2008, including the Academy Award for Best Director...
, and starring Alex Etel
Alex Etel
Alexander Nathan "Alex" Etel is a British child actor.-Early life:Alexander Nathan Etel was born at 3:33AM on September 19, 1994 in a hospital on the outskirts of Manchester. Etel is the middle child of his family, he has a younger brother and an older sister.-Career:Etel was born in Manchester...
, Lewis McGibbon
Lewis McGibbon
Lewis Owen McGibbon is an English actor, whose first movie performance was the critically praised role of Anthony, the elder and more materialistic son in Danny Boyle's 2004 family comedy, Millions...
, and James Nesbitt
James Nesbitt
James Nesbitt is a Northern Irish actor. Born in Ballymena, County Antrim, Nesbitt grew up in the nearby village of Broughshane, before moving to Coleraine, County Londonderry. He wanted to become a teacher like his father, so he began a degree in French at the University of Ulster...
. The screenwriter Frank Cottrell Boyce
Frank Cottrell Boyce
-Awards:*2004: Buch des Monats des Instituts für Jugendliteratur/Book of the Month by the Institute for Youth Literature , Millions*2004: Carnegie Medal, Millions*2004: Luchs des Jahres , Millions...
adapted his novel
Millions (novel)
Millions is a children's novel by Frank Cottrell Boyce, published in 2004. It was originally written solely as a screenplay for the film Millions, but screenwriter Cottrell Boyce decided to adapt it into a novel while the film was in the process of being made. It was his first novel...
while the film was in the process of being made. The novel Millions
Millions (novel)
Millions is a children's novel by Frank Cottrell Boyce, published in 2004. It was originally written solely as a screenplay for the film Millions, but screenwriter Cottrell Boyce decided to adapt it into a novel while the film was in the process of being made. It was his first novel...
was subsequently awarded the Carnegie Medal
Carnegie Medal
The Carnegie Medal is a literary award established in 1936 in honour of Scottish philanthropist Andrew Carnegie and given annually to an outstanding book for children and young adults. It is awarded by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals...
.
Plot
Millions tells the story of 7-year-old Damian, a devout Catholic school boy, whose family moves to the suburbs of WidnesWidnes
Widnes is an industrial town within the borough of Halton, in Cheshire, England, with an urban area population of 57,663 in 2004. It is located on the northern bank of the River Mersey where the estuary narrows to form the Runcorn Gap. Directly to the south across the Mersey is the town of Runcorn...
after the death of his mother. Soon after the move, Damian's "hermitage" is obliterated by a bag of money flung from a passing train. Damian immediately shows the money to his brother, Anthony, and the two begin thinking of what to do with it. Anthony, the boy who loves money, wants the money all to himself. Damian, the kind-hearted and religious of the two, had recently overheard three Latter-day Saint missionaries
Missionary (LDS Church)
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is one of the most active modern practitioners of missionary work, with over 52,000 full-time missionaries worldwide, as of the end of 2010...
lecture other members of the community on building foundations of rock rather than foundations of sand, an old Christian principle which dictates that self-worth should be based on the teachings of Christ rather than any other object of worship such as Money/Mammon or Power. The lecture inspires Damian, who is for ways to give his share of the money to the poor; at one point he even stuffs a bundle of cash through the missionaries' letter box, having heard about their modest lifestyle and deciding that they too must be poor.
Throughout the story, Damian commits small acts of kindness like buying birds from pet stores and setting them free and taking beggars to Pizza Hut
Pizza Hut
Pizza Hut is an American restaurant chain and international franchise that offers different styles of pizza along with side dishes including pasta, buffalo wings, breadsticks, and garlic bread....
, while Anthony bribes other kids at school into being his transportation and bodyguards, and looks into investing the money in real estate.
The story takes place in the weeks leading up to The Bank of England's (fictional) change from the pound
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
(£) to the euro
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
(€). An assembly is held at Damian's school to inform the children about the change, as well as to educate the children about helping the poor. Realizing that the money, which is in pounds, will be no good after a few days, Damian decides that the best thing to do would be to give it all to the poor before the conversion. Upon deciding this, he drops £1,000 into the donation can at the assembly, for which he gets into trouble. When Damian goes into the principal's office, Anthony lies, stating that he and Damian stole the money from the Mormons (to protect Damian). Damian and Anthony are grounded that night.
After the donation, Anthony's friend informs them that a train carrying bills which were to be destroyed after the conversion had been robbed, and that the money had been dispersed by throwing it off of the train at various locations throughout the country to be collected by the robbers. The boys logically conclude that their money was stolen, and Damian, who thought the money was from God, feels terrible.
Around this time, a mysterious man comes snooping around the train tracks and asks Damian if he has any money. Damian thinks that the man is a beggar and tells him he has 'loads of money'. However, Anthony finds out and comes back to give the man a jar full of coins to cover Damian's tracks.
The robber eventually finds out where Damian lives and ransacks his house to find the money. Damian had informed his father about the money just before they came home to their destroyed house. The robbery is then explained. The robbers boarded the train. They then escaped the police by dressing as football fans and joining a crowd of similarly dressed fans leaving a game. However, one man remained on the train. He began to throw the money off, to be collected later. The robber who came sneaking around hid in Damian's room after ransacking it, much in the way the train robbery was carried out. Damian's father, who had resolved to give the money back, decided that if the robbers were going to steal his family's Christmas, then he would steal the robbers' money. The family, as well as the father's new girlfriend (the woman collecting the donations), go on a massive shopping spree on Christmas Eve.
That night, after they are asleep, their house is bombarded by beggars and charities begging for contributions, and seeing the confusion that results, Damian runs off to the train tracks to burn the money, deciding that it was doing more harm than good. While he is burning the money, he is visited by his dead mother, who tells him not to worry about her.
In the final scene, the audience sees Damian's dream of the family flying a rocket ship to Africa and helping develop water wells, while Damian narrates over the scene that each family member but him had hidden a little bit of the money beforehand. Damian convinced them to spend this money on the wells he is dreaming about. Earlier in the movie this was shown to be the most crucial and cheapest way to drastically improve the quality of life for many African communities.
Cast
- Alex EtelAlex EtelAlexander Nathan "Alex" Etel is a British child actor.-Early life:Alexander Nathan Etel was born at 3:33AM on September 19, 1994 in a hospital on the outskirts of Manchester. Etel is the middle child of his family, he has a younger brother and an older sister.-Career:Etel was born in Manchester...
as Damian Cunningham - Lewis McGibbonLewis McGibbonLewis Owen McGibbon is an English actor, whose first movie performance was the critically praised role of Anthony, the elder and more materialistic son in Danny Boyle's 2004 family comedy, Millions...
as Anthony Cunningham - James NesbittJames NesbittJames Nesbitt is a Northern Irish actor. Born in Ballymena, County Antrim, Nesbitt grew up in the nearby village of Broughshane, before moving to Coleraine, County Londonderry. He wanted to become a teacher like his father, so he began a degree in French at the University of Ulster...
as Ronald Cunningham - Daisy DonovanDaisy DonovanDaisy Donovan is an American-born British television presenter, actress and writer.-Early life:Donovan was born in Brooklyn, New York, USA. Her father was fashion photographer and film director Terence Donovan; her mother Diana Donovan, is chairwoman of the English National Ballet School...
as Dorothy - Christopher FulfordChristopher FulfordChristopher Fulford is a British actor who is best known for his supporting roles in many British TV shows.In his early career he often appeared in British crime dramas. He was guest star of both the ITV crime series Inspector Morse, in Driven to Destruction and as a killer in the early A Touch...
as The "Poor Man" - Pearce QuigleyPearce QuigleyPearce Quigley is an English actor of the stage and screen. His theatre credits include The Seagull ; Paul ; Journey's End ; My Night with Reg and Dealer's Choice ; Feelgood ; Blue Heart ; Shopping and Fucking Pearce Quigley (born Salford, England) is an English actor of the stage and screen. His...
as Community Policeman - Jane Hogarth as Mum
- Alun ArmstrongAlun Armstrong (actor)Alun Armstrong is a prolific British character actor. Armstrong grew up in County Durham in North East England. He first became interested in acting through Shakespeare productions at his grammar school. Since his career began in the early 1970s, he has played, in his words, "the full spectrum of...
as Saint PeterSaint PeterSaint Peter or Simon Peter was an early Christian leader, who is featured prominently in the New Testament Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. The son of John or of Jonah and from the village of Bethsaida in the province of Galilee, his brother Andrew was also an apostle... - Enzo CilentiEnzo CilentiEnzo Cilenti is an English actor.He was born in Bradford to Italian parents. He is married to the actress Sienna Guillory, with whom he has appeared in several films.-Partial filmography:* Wonderland...
as Saint Francis of Assisi - Nasser Memarzia as Saint JosephSaint JosephSaint Joseph is a figure in the Gospels, the husband of the Virgin Mary and the earthly father of Jesus Christ ....
- Kathryn Pogson as Saint ClareSaint ClareSaint Clare may refer to:*Saint Clare of Assisi, founder of the Poor Clares and companion of Saint Francis of Assisi*Saint Clare of the Cross or Clare of Montefalco, 13th-century Italian abbess...
- Harry Kirkham as Saint NicholasSaint NicholasSaint Nicholas , also called Nikolaos of Myra, was a historic 4th-century saint and Greek Bishop of Myra . Because of the many miracles attributed to his intercession, he is also known as Nikolaos the Wonderworker...
- Cornelius Macarthy as Gonzaga
- Kolade Agboke as Ambrosio
- Leslie PhillipsLeslie PhillipsLeslie Samuel Phillips, CBE is an English actor with a highly recognisable upper class accent. Originally known for his work as a comedy actor, Phillips subsequently made the transition to character roles.-Early life:...
as Himself
Box office
The film was a mild box office success, earning £7,830,074.88 worldwide despite a limited release to just 340 theatres, contending with Steven SpielbergSteven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...
's War of the Worlds
War of the Worlds (2005 film)
War of the Worlds is a 2005 American science fiction film adaptation of H. G. Wells' novel of the same name, directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Josh Friedman and David Koepp. It is one of three film adaptations of War of the Worlds released that year, alongside The Asylum's version and...
. Around £3,987,642.22 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 TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
.
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
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
Richard Roeper
Richard E. Roeper is an American columnist and film critic for The Chicago Sun-Times and now a co-host on The Roe Conn Show on WLS-AM...
, 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
Leonard Maltin
Leonard Maltin is an American film and animated film critic and historian, author of several mainstream books on cinema, focusing on nostalgic, celebratory narratives.-Personal life:...
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
Catholic News Service
Catholic News Service is an American news agency covering the Roman Catholic Church. CNS was established in 1920 and is a leading source of news for Catholic print and broadcast media throughout the world....
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 FestivalToronto International Film Festival
The Toronto International Film Festival is a publicly-attended film festival held each September in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In 2010, 339 films from 59 countries were screened at 32 screens in downtown Toronto venues...
on September 14, 2004.
2005 British Independent Film Awards
British Independent Film Awards
The Moët British Independent Film Awards is an annual award ceremony celebrating achievement in independently funded British film and cinema. Nominations and jury are announced at the beginning of November with the award ceremony taking place in late November or early December.-History:The British...
- Won, Best Screenplay: Frank Cottrell BoyceFrank Cottrell Boyce-Awards:*2004: Buch des Monats des Instituts für Jugendliteratur/Book of the Month by the Institute for Youth Literature , Millions*2004: Carnegie Medal, Millions*2004: Luchs des Jahres , Millions...
- Nominated, Most Promising Newcomer: Alex Etel
2006 Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards
Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards
The Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards, commonly called the Critics' Choice Awards, are bestowed annually by the Broadcast Film Critics Association to honor the finest in cinematic achievement. Nominees are selected by written ballots in a week-long voting period, and are announced in...
- Nominated, Best Young Actor: Alex Etel
2005 Emden International Film Festival
- Nominated, Emden Film Award: Danny Boyle
2005 Golden Trailer Awards
Golden Trailer Awards
The Golden Trailer Awards is an annual awards show that honors achievements in motion picture marketing, including film trailers, posters and television advertisements.- Overview :...
- Nominated, Best Animation/Family
- Nominated, Best Foreign Independent Film
2005 Humanitas Prize
Humanitas Prize
The Humanitas Prize is an award for film and television writing intended to promote human dignity, meaning, and freedom. It began in 1974 with Father Ellwood "Bud" Kieser — also the founder of Paulist Productions — but is generally not seen as specifically directed toward religious...
- 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
Soundtrack
- The song playing in the flashback to the train robbery is "Hysteria" by MuseMuse (band)Muse are an English alternative rock band from Teignmouth, Devon, formed in 1994. The band consists of school friends Matthew Bellamy , Christopher Wolstenholme and Dominic Howard...
and, shortly after, another MuseMuse (band)Muse are an English alternative rock band from Teignmouth, Devon, formed in 1994. The band consists of school friends Matthew Bellamy , Christopher Wolstenholme and Dominic Howard...
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 "NirvanaNirvana (Elbosco song)Nirvana is a 1995 New Age song written and composed by Rojotua, Loxatus and C. Max and performed by the Spanish musical group Elbosco. The song became a world success and was also used by Danny Boyle in the 2004 film Millions....
", by ElboscoElboscoElbosco was the name of a joint Spanish musical group that achieved world success with the song Nirvana in 1995.The group consisted of the boys choral group of the Escolanía del Real Monasterio of San Lorenzo, with boys between 9 and 14 years old along with adult instrumentalists and soloists...
on the Angelis album. - The song "La Petite Fille de la mer" by VangelisVangelisEvangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou is a Greek composer of electronic, progressive, ambient, jazz, pop rock and orchestral music, under the artist name Vangelis...
also appears in the film. - Members of the Northwest Boychoir, directed by Joseph Crnko, sang on the soundtrack.