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Second Best (film)
Encyclopedia
Second Best is a 1994 film produced by Sarah Radclyffe
and directed by Chris Menges
. It closely follows the 1991 novel of the same name by David Cook, who also wrote the screenplay.
) is a single man aged 42, who attempts to adopt a 10-year-old boy. Graham is a sub-postmaster in Warwickshire
, England. James Lennards (Chris Cleary Miles) is a disturbed child brought up in care. Graham wants a son, but James doesn't want another father.
Graham Holt's emotional development has been smothered by his protective parents. His mother has died and he has to care for his bed-ridden father who has had a stroke.
James has been shunted from care home to foster home, causing disruption and being unable to relate to women. He only has a vague memory of his mother when he was aged 3, but has a vivid and romantic image of his father. James' father is in prison and has spun tales of him being a mercenary
in the few times they've spent together on the run.
As Graham goes through the extended vetting process to be an adoptive parent, he spies James' picture in a local journal and immediately selects him as his future son. He then has to attend classes and meet regularly with social workers. Graham and James meet and the embarrassed silences demonstrate Graham's nervousness and James' manipulation of the situtaion. He knows what he has to do and how he has to behave if he is to have any chance of adoption. Graham is not sure how to behave, nor what to say. Asked by his social worker if he's sure he really likes children, he replies in the affirmative.
As the meetings continue, Graham starts to call James 'Jamie' and he doesn't object. But he refuses to answer to Jimmy, the name his father used. Graham and his father were only close for one week in his life, when the two of them went away for a few days when Graham was aged 12. He shows pictures of that trip to James and breaks down and cries.
When James is shown the room that would be his if the "fostering with a view to adoption" went through, he performs a calculated action. He moves towards 'the man' and places his arms around the man's waist. He then hugs him briefly, thus getting their first moment of physical contact over with quickly.
On a trip out in the car, Graham tries to explain that for the relationship to work, they should end up feeling a kind of love for each other. James asks "Would that be the same sort of love you and your father had for each other, that week you spent on holiday?" Graham has to show that he has a support network and takes James to meet Lynn, a neighbour. James notices that Lynn would like to share her life with Graham and is now jealous. He also grasps that she is trying to guess if he has been sexually abused by Graham and in what manner.
Graham decides to take James camping and the boy helps choose the equipment they need to buy. It's a happy experience and Graham notices the flicker of a look from the boy that he interprets not as love, but as holding out the possibility of a deeper relationship between man and boy. James tells Graham he will need a large sleeping bag, but Graham realises later that this was a ruse when the boy climbs into his sleeping bag at night. Graham is petrified that the human warmth, the never before experienced closeness of another body, albeit a child's body, might excite him sexually. He is also worried that the embrace by an emotionally damaged child might be a re-enactment of some form of seduction he had experienced in the past. Graham experiences an overwhelming desire to shout for joy and return the boy's embrace, but he remains still. Graham accepts that had James been a sexually aware child looking for excitement, then he might have been seduced, because of his need and longing for love, and might have "crossed over a line that he could not cross and hope to be his parent". He concludes that James recognised that Graham had to confront the "deadly rivals" of sexuality and the physicality which is not sexual but gives comfort and pleasure.
After a few weekends together, Graham takes James to meet Graham's father's brother Uncle Turpin (John Hurt
). Turpin questions Graham's motives, saying "It is all above board with you and the little lad, isn't it?" Turpin then tells Graham that his father had a homosexual relationship during the war and this explains some of the relationship problems Graham has had with his father.
As the man/boy relationship develops and has its ups and downs, nothing shakes Graham's belief that he is the one person who can make all the difference and that between them, they could change each other. James withdraws into himself as he is unable to meet his father, then his father unexpectedly turns up at the post office, thin and suffering from AIDS
. The man is dying, and Graham invites him in and he and James care for him as he lives his last few months.
website and 6.8 out of 10 on the Rotten Tomatoes
site.
Channel 4
(who rated it 4.6 out of 5) wrote: "The powerful and sometimes crippling relationships between fathers and sons is the inspiration behind Menges' worthy drama".
Sarah Radclyffe
Sarah Radclyffe , sometimes credited as Sarah Radcliffe is a British film producer.She began working as associative producer in the late 1970s on movies like The Tempest by Derek Jarman...
and directed by Chris Menges
Chris Menges
Chris Menges BSC, ASC, is an English cinematographer and film director. He is a member of both the American and British Societies of Cinematographers.-Life and career:...
. It closely follows the 1991 novel of the same name by David Cook, who also wrote the screenplay.
Plot
Graham Holt (William HurtWilliam Hurt
William McGill Hurt is an American stage and film actor. He received his acting training at the Juilliard School, and began acting on stage in the 1970s. Hurt made his film debut as a troubled scientist in the science-fiction feature Altered States , for which he received a Golden Globe nomination...
) is a single man aged 42, who attempts to adopt a 10-year-old boy. Graham is a sub-postmaster in Warwickshire
Warwickshire
Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
, England. James Lennards (Chris Cleary Miles) is a disturbed child brought up in care. Graham wants a son, but James doesn't want another father.
Graham Holt's emotional development has been smothered by his protective parents. His mother has died and he has to care for his bed-ridden father who has had a stroke.
James has been shunted from care home to foster home, causing disruption and being unable to relate to women. He only has a vague memory of his mother when he was aged 3, but has a vivid and romantic image of his father. James' father is in prison and has spun tales of him being a mercenary
Mercenary
A mercenary, is a person who takes part in an armed conflict based on the promise of material compensation rather than having a direct interest in, or a legal obligation to, the conflict itself. A non-conscript professional member of a regular army is not considered to be a mercenary although he...
in the few times they've spent together on the run.
As Graham goes through the extended vetting process to be an adoptive parent, he spies James' picture in a local journal and immediately selects him as his future son. He then has to attend classes and meet regularly with social workers. Graham and James meet and the embarrassed silences demonstrate Graham's nervousness and James' manipulation of the situtaion. He knows what he has to do and how he has to behave if he is to have any chance of adoption. Graham is not sure how to behave, nor what to say. Asked by his social worker if he's sure he really likes children, he replies in the affirmative.
As the meetings continue, Graham starts to call James 'Jamie' and he doesn't object. But he refuses to answer to Jimmy, the name his father used. Graham and his father were only close for one week in his life, when the two of them went away for a few days when Graham was aged 12. He shows pictures of that trip to James and breaks down and cries.
When James is shown the room that would be his if the "fostering with a view to adoption" went through, he performs a calculated action. He moves towards 'the man' and places his arms around the man's waist. He then hugs him briefly, thus getting their first moment of physical contact over with quickly.
On a trip out in the car, Graham tries to explain that for the relationship to work, they should end up feeling a kind of love for each other. James asks "Would that be the same sort of love you and your father had for each other, that week you spent on holiday?" Graham has to show that he has a support network and takes James to meet Lynn, a neighbour. James notices that Lynn would like to share her life with Graham and is now jealous. He also grasps that she is trying to guess if he has been sexually abused by Graham and in what manner.
Graham decides to take James camping and the boy helps choose the equipment they need to buy. It's a happy experience and Graham notices the flicker of a look from the boy that he interprets not as love, but as holding out the possibility of a deeper relationship between man and boy. James tells Graham he will need a large sleeping bag, but Graham realises later that this was a ruse when the boy climbs into his sleeping bag at night. Graham is petrified that the human warmth, the never before experienced closeness of another body, albeit a child's body, might excite him sexually. He is also worried that the embrace by an emotionally damaged child might be a re-enactment of some form of seduction he had experienced in the past. Graham experiences an overwhelming desire to shout for joy and return the boy's embrace, but he remains still. Graham accepts that had James been a sexually aware child looking for excitement, then he might have been seduced, because of his need and longing for love, and might have "crossed over a line that he could not cross and hope to be his parent". He concludes that James recognised that Graham had to confront the "deadly rivals" of sexuality and the physicality which is not sexual but gives comfort and pleasure.
After a few weekends together, Graham takes James to meet Graham's father's brother Uncle Turpin (John Hurt
John Hurt
John Vincent Hurt, CBE is an English actor, known for his leading roles as John Merrick in The Elephant Man, Winston Smith in Nineteen Eighty-Four, Mr. Braddock in The Hit, Stephen Ward in Scandal, Quentin Crisp in The Naked Civil Servant and An Englishman in New York...
). Turpin questions Graham's motives, saying "It is all above board with you and the little lad, isn't it?" Turpin then tells Graham that his father had a homosexual relationship during the war and this explains some of the relationship problems Graham has had with his father.
As the man/boy relationship develops and has its ups and downs, nothing shakes Graham's belief that he is the one person who can make all the difference and that between them, they could change each other. James withdraws into himself as he is unable to meet his father, then his father unexpectedly turns up at the post office, thin and suffering from AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
. The man is dying, and Graham invites him in and he and James care for him as he lives his last few months.
Cast
- William HurtWilliam HurtWilliam McGill Hurt is an American stage and film actor. He received his acting training at the Juilliard School, and began acting on stage in the 1970s. Hurt made his film debut as a troubled scientist in the science-fiction feature Altered States , for which he received a Golden Globe nomination...
as Graham Holt - Chris Cleary Miles as James
- John HurtJohn HurtJohn Vincent Hurt, CBE is an English actor, known for his leading roles as John Merrick in The Elephant Man, Winston Smith in Nineteen Eighty-Four, Mr. Braddock in The Hit, Stephen Ward in Scandal, Quentin Crisp in The Naked Civil Servant and An Englishman in New York...
as Uncle Turpin - Jane HorrocksJane HorrocksBarbara Jane Horrocks is an English voice, stage, screen and television actress, voice artist, musician, and singer. She is best known for her role as "Bubble" in the TV series Absolutely Fabulous as well as her distinctive voice....
as Debbie - Alan CummingAlan CummingAlan Cumming, OBE is a Scottish stage, television and film actor, singer, writer, director, producer and author. His roles have included the Emcee in Cabaret, Boris Grishenko in GoldenEye, Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler in X2: X-Men United, Mr. Elton in Emma, and Fegan Floop in the Spy Kids trilogy...
as Bernard - Jake OwenJake OwenJoshua Ryan "Jake" Owen is an American country music artist. Signed to RCA Records Nashville in 2005, he released his debut album Startin' with Me that year. The album produced three singles, all of which reached Top 20 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart: "Yee Haw", "Startin' with Me", and...
as James age 3
Critical reception
It has received 7 out of 10 stars on the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database
Internet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
website and 6.8 out of 10 on the Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten 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...
site.
Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
(who rated it 4.6 out of 5) wrote: "The powerful and sometimes crippling relationships between fathers and sons is the inspiration behind Menges' worthy drama".