adonis98-743-186503 Author Rudyard Kipling and his wife search for their 18-year-old son after he goes missing during World War I. My Boy Jack has for sure it's very good moments and if there's one good thing about it was definitely Kim Cattrall's perfomance as Mrs. Kipling unfortunately tho the film is made for TV and that shows since most of the drama feels way over the top with some perfomances as well, Daniel Radcliffe does pretty much nothing since he was still working those Harry Potter movies at that time and the overall movie feels cheap, muddle, boring and meh. (4/10)

MartinHafer "My Boy Jack" is set during WWI--a war in which many millions of young men were killed for absolutely nothing (between 5-6 million of these were Brits). However, instead of being the story about a battle or large groups of men, it's about one individual--Jack Kipling, the only son of Rudyard Kipling. What makes it so compelling is that Jack shouldn't have even been in action--he was practically blind and had been repeatedly rejected for service. But, since his father was a public figure and had pushed so much for the war as well as the whole 'duty to King and country' rot, it wasn't surprising that the boy felt compelled to push and push to get into the thick of the action. What happens next isn't at all surprising--and gives his family a chance to reassess their values and commitment to the cause as well as their own part in the tragedy.This is a very effective film. Much of it is because of the fine acting by Daniel Ratcliffe (as Jack), Carey Mulligan, Kim Cattrall (as his American mother) and David Haig as Rudyard Kipling. What makes it a little more interesting is that the true story was based on a play written by Haig himself. Overall, it's a wonderful but incredibly sad film that puts an individual face on tragedy. Well worth seeing and filled with emotion--so much so that you really should have some Kleenex handy. One of the better made for TV movies I have seen.

didi-5 David Haig wrote and starred as Rudyard Kipling in 'My Boy Jack', a drama about the brief life of John Kipling, who went to war despite his appalling eyesight and died in the trenches as a teenager.Jack is played by Daniel Radcliffe, who carried all the baggage of being better known as Harry Potter - however his performance is understated, moving, and well crafted. He also has a resemblance to Haig which makes it all the more convincing that they are father and son.The real revelation of this drama though is the casting of Kim Cattrall, Sex and the City's Samantha Jones, as Jack's mother - she is brilliant and this film proves she really can act.The film presents the realities of war without sentiment, and also does justice to the reputation and work of Kipling. Excellent viewing.

classicalsteve The first important role for Daniel Radcliffe as an actor was certainly his opportunity to play Harry Potter, the magical boy attending a parochial school for wizards. His second may be this role as a young officer commissioned to fight and risk his life in the Great War. This part allowed Radcliffe to spread his acting wings and prove he has a range and ability that goes beyond Hogwarts. Radcliffe will probably always be grateful to Harry Potter but he needed a role to branch out into other challenging worlds.The setting is a 180-degree turn from Harry Potter: the early days of World War I in Britain, circa 1914. As the title character of a period piece, Radcliffe plays Jack Kipling, a young man caught up in the fervor that swept British youth at the outbreak of the "war to end all wars". The army at first rejects him because of his eyesight, but his father, the immortal Rudyard Kipling, played with equal fervor by David Haig, pulls certain strings to get his son into basic training and eventually the western front. But his wife, played brilliantly by Kim Cattrall, and their daughter, played with beautiful subtlety by Carey Mulligan, are devastated by their attitude about Jack's entering the war.In a particularly fine sequence of scenes, when Radcliffe leaves his family to enter basic training, he seems like a boy about to go to school for the first time. But when he returns home as an officer, his demeanor has become that of a man. Radcliffe does a fine job of displaying the subtle transformation from adolescence to maturity. Jack becomes an officer before he is 18 years old. The film then moves between the home of the Kiplings in a beautiful manor in rural England and the devastating world of trench warfare on the western front.A fine film all around, and again, a breath of fresh air for the likes of Radcliffe who has proved that he can play parts quite removed from fantasy. Radcliffe will probably enjoy a long and fruitful career. Harry Potter certainly spring-boarded him into an acting career. But Jack Kipling helped him establish that he can swim in deeper waters.