I'll put my hand up and admit I didn't think the idea of the film was that amazing - absolutely, a decent story... but was there enough for a feature? You've got the getting lost sequence, the Google Earth sequence, then.... what?
But I was wrong. The opening sequence is a punch to the solar plexus - every small kid/mum/family's worst nightmare, getting lost on a train. The adventures being lost are pretty good too (how much of this was made up?). Things slow down when the story moves to Tasmania - inevitably in part because the stakes are lower but also because the characters, based on real people, are not that interesting. The girlfriend remains pretty much "the girlfriend" (although there is charming dialogue), and dad is "dad" - mum does get one really great scene, which is presumably how Nicole Kidman agreed to sign on. The last "act" for lack of a better word - tracking down via Google Earth - doesn't take very long. But things are fleshed out by mum and unexpectedly the story of the main guy's adopted brother. This is what really elevated this work for me. A very moving, well written piece.
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