7/10
nice dying guy coming-of-age movie
20 June 2015
Donald (Thomas Brodie-Sangster) is dying of cancer. He's angry and distancing himself from his parents. He draws comic book art and sees his world through his drawings. He is sent to shrink #6 Dr. Adrian King (Andy Serkis). He also falls for rebellious classmate Shelly (Aisling Loftus). She insists on using O'Reilly after her step-father Fitzgerald left.

The kid is good in the role. He's got an interesting face and was also memorable in 'Game of Thrones'. This is a pretty standard sick kid role. Andy Serkis shows that he's more than a motion capture actor although I wish he gets rid of those sweaters. It's too obvious. Donald's friends need to be fleshed out more. They are all non-descript idiots without any distinguishing qualities. It may be useful to have only one best friend played by a good young comic. Aisling Loftus is great as the dream girl. The problem is that the movie moves away from her too much. Their relationship has some of the best moments of the movie. I especially like the scene where he lets her down.
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