I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

John Crowley has been creating sensitive films that deal with difficult subjects (Intermission, Boy A) and somehow pulls them off brilliantly. IS ANYBODY THERE? on the surface is a simple story about a friendship that develops between a somewhat despondent elderly man and a young boy who wants to know what happens after life. In part due to the writing of Peter Harness and in part due to the stellar performances by Michael Caine and Bill Milner, this little Indie film slipped through the cracks of public notice only to be discovered once it has been released on DVD. It is worth the wait. Edward (Bill Milner) is a ten-year-old boy living with his parents, Mum (Anne-Marie Duff) and Dad (David Morrissey) in 1980s England. In rough financial times the family has converted their small home into a retirement center where elderly folks progress towards their ends, grumble and gather for games and are entertained by whomever happens by. Edward, put out because he has given up his room for the old codgers, fancies ghosts and paranormal activities that he attempts to register on a tape recorder whenever one of the tenants dies. His life is one of frustration at having to live with the old folks, until one day by chance one Clarence the Amazing Magician (Michael Caine) parks at the house and takes up residence in a room recently vacated by a death. He is feisty yet he is also a bit morose, remembering his beloved deceased wife Annie who divorced him for his philandering - a fact for which he has never forgiven himself. Clarence and Edward gradually align; Edward learns some magic tricks from Clarence, while Clarence finds a fellow soul who will care about his plight. Clarence gifts the paranormal obsessed Edward with a séance and Edward shares secrets with Clarence - secrets such as standing before a mirror and uttering the name of a departed until they appear. Not much changes around the retirement home until Dad foolishly tries to woo one of the young helpers and is recorded by Edward, releasing the recording to Mum, which sets in place a divorce. Edward is devastated at what he has done and turns to Clarence, but Clarence is set on suicide to join his Annie. How each of these two bruised males interact and help each other accept both life and death is the resolution of the story. The performances by Caine and Milner are remarkably fine and they are surrounded by some of our better elderly actors (Sylvia Syms, Rosemary Harris, Peter Vaughan Lesley Howard etc). Though the theme of the film is much about dying, it remains a buoyant, life affirming story of how desperately we all need to interact with others to give life special meaning. A very good film and one of Michael Caine's finest and most subtle performances on film. Grady Harp

I heard this film was moving so I prepared myself for some spillage. Within ten minutes, I was teary - not hose-pipe teary - but I became aware that the tap of emotion was being slowly turned on by the gentle yet persistent hand of pathos. It was during the second scene, when Michael Caine's eyes spewed forth the wretchedness of despair like an urn pours forth water, that I realised that this performance was Caine at his most able; I fumbled for my hanky and decided to ignore the prickle of anguish just for the privilege of seeing his performance.If Michael Caine was a piece of jewellery, he would be a 24-carat-gold antique ring encrusted with rubies, diamonds, sapphires and emeralds; each element perfectly contrasting with its neighbour; a unique mixture of the most precious and luminous stones; never losing their appeal yet probably taken a bit for granted; and only really appreciated by few.In this role, the subtle yet overwhelming brilliance of Caine's portrayal of a man suffering with dementia allows all the dimensions of his talent to shine. This film is the jeweller and his cloth, and Caine is the multi-talented gemstone, in all his mournful glory, at the heart of it.There's no denying that the story is grim. The characters are sad; there is death, decay and dementia in equal measure. It is a bleak yet compelling landscape. The background to the landscape is equally dreary. It's the 80s in an unremarkable backwater outside Hull; the weather is dull; 90 per cent of the film is set in an old people's home; our protagonist has dementia; and his best friend is obsessed with the afterlife (to the extent of recording the dying wheezes of the clients). Not really a crowd pleaser, eh? But believe it or not, this film has a lot of humour running through it. Okay, so it's blacker than Newgate's knocker but it's there in spades. Caine's best mate, Edward, a 10-year-old oddball is as compelling to watch as His Majesty as his hose-pipe gets turned on more than once, and very effectively indeed. He sensitively portrays a maudlin misfit not that dissimilar to the talent bud, Nicholas Hoult's Marcus in 'About a Boy'.This film is a really great example of British film-making at its finest - a good script and fine talent - nothing more nothing less. It is also a great reminder that a low budget does not mean you have to compromise on enjoyment. With this film, you get two superb beacons of light radiating out from a good support cast and a true-to-life story about the reality of old age and all the regret that can accompany it. Powerful stuff.

What a pure delight this film was.Maybe its because I also grew up in the 80's (albeit not in an old folks home) that the twinge of nostalgia attached to this film drew me in more than others. The decor was instantly recognisable and reminiscent of my grandparents house! I am a stereotypical British Michael Caine fan so I am unashamedly biased but all that considered I genuinely believe this to be one of his shinning moments.The script was well structured & the direction natural - I believed in those characters, in fact I almost felt like I might have met some of them a long time ago.Funny, touching, charming and yes most definitely a bit sad but sad in the nicest and most uplifting way possible.Was this a comedy, was it a drama??? I'm not sure, what I am sure about is that there aren't enough films like this.If you like run of the mill Hollywood films you wont like this – if you like films with a touch of humanity that make you think a little, go see it - trust me.

Normally, an old folks home in the boondocks of England run by a quarreling couple on a shoe-string budget with the young son slowly going bonkers from their bickering, from being forced to sleep in a closet, and from being surrounded by eccentric elderly people in various stages of dementia would not shape up to be a barrel of laughs, or even a story likely to capture one's attention. Yet this premise is not that divergent from the first chapter of the PHILOSOPHER'S STONE, known otherwise as Harry Potter, Book One. Before you can mutter "Albus Dumbledore," a mysterious aging magician named Clarence A. Parkinson (Michael Caine) enters the world of young, put-upon Edward (Bill Milner), who's just turning old enough to enter Hogwart's, age 11. The real magic of this movie is THAT THERE IS NONE, and yet it manages to poignantly evoke the triumph of plucky youth prevailing against all odds with a wave of emotion not dissimilar to that evoked when Dumbledore awards Neville Longbottom that final point to clinch the House Cup for Gryffindor near the conclusion of 2001's HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE. As an added bonus, this current film is filled with lots of humor, plus a grisly moment that would make Buckbeak's head spin! While waiting for the sixth Harry Potter movie, why not check out IS ANYBODY THERE?