The film stars Lucy Deakins as 14-year-old Milly Michaelson, Jay Underwood as Eric Gibb, a boy with autism, Bonnie Bedelia as Milly's mother, Fred Savage as Milly's little brother, Colleen Dewhurst as a teacher, Fred Gwynne as Eric's uncle, Janet MacLachlan, and Mindy Cohn. After the suicide of her terminally ill father, Milly becomes friends with Eric, who lost both of his parents to a plane crash. Together, Eric and Milly find ways to cope with the loss and the pain as they escape to faraway places.
Fourteen-year-old Amelia "Milly" Michaelson (Deakins) and her family move into a new suburban home shortly after the death of her father. Milly makes friends with her new neighbor Geneva, and Milly and her eight-year-old brother Louis (Savage), a budding military buff, have difficulty adjusting to their new schools, while their mother Charlene (Bedelia) copes with a demotion at work and her inability to learn how to use a computer. Louis is also plagued by bullies down the street who won't let him get around the block. During the first night at the house, Milly is in her bedroom talking to her pet bird. Something flies past the window, but when Milly goes to investigate, she sees nothing.
Milly and Geneva observe Eric Gibb (Underwood), a boy with autism, living next door with his alcoholic uncle Hugo (Gwynne). Eric has never spoken a word in his life, doesn't like to be around people, and exhibits bizarre behavior related to flying. Milly hears that Eric's parents died in a plane crash. Later that night, Milly and her family watch as Eric and three adults appear outside, with Eric in a straitjacket and being restrained by two men. Milly later reveals to Geneva one night when Milly's mother is out for the evening that she finds Eric attractive.
Although Eric cannot communicate with anyone, he begins to react to Milly. Mrs. Sherman observes this interaction and asks Milly to keep an eye on Eric, explaining that because of Uncle Hugo's drinking, Eric is in constant danger of being taken by authorities and placed in a hospital. Milly works with Eric over the course of the school year and takes notes on his progress, which is slow at first. Milly notes excitedly the first time Eric smiles on his own, rather than merely copying her own smile. Eric does nothing when Milly throws balls to him, except for one day when he spontaneously reaches out and catches a stray baseball flying toward Milly's head.
Strange occurrences, like Eric's apparent ability to appear in his own window one instant and in Milly's the next without any link between their homes, begin to make Milly question reality.
On a school field trip, with no one present except Eric, Milly falls off a bridge while trying to pick a rose. Knocked unconscious, she dreams that she wakes up in the hospital, with Eric sitting on the windowsill. After a conversation with him (albeit wordless on Eric's part), she becomes convinced he can fly. Eric gives her the rose she was trying to reach and then, taking her hand, leads her out of the window and the two begin flying. The two watch a fireworks display from a cloud before they share a kiss and return to the hospital window. After watching Eric fly off, Milly's dream becomes a nightmare as she sees her Dad in a hospital bed, dead, with a girl called Mona throwing a volleyball at her which knocks her out of the window.
Milly then wakes up in a hospital and tells her mother that Eric can fly and that he caught her as she fell. A shrink, Dr. Grenader, talks to Milly and tells her that Eric caught her, as she only has a concussion and no serious injuries. Dr. Grenader, however, puts forth a more logical explanation and explains her belief that Eric can fly may be due to stress caused by the death of her father as he died from cancer. It is revealed that Milly's father knew he had cancer, but kept it a secret from his family because he did not want them to worry. Rather than seek treatment, he said goodbye and committed suicide.
Upon returning home, Milly notices the rose on her windowsill and becomes convinced that Eric can fly. When she shouts to Uncle Hugo about Eric's whereabouts, he replies by saying the institute has taken him away as Hugo was found drunk again. Despite the efforts of Milly and her family, they are not allowed to see Eric. As they leave, Eric tries to force the window open and is restrained by two men who try to sedate him. Another attempt by Louis to get around the block fails as the bullies tear his tricycle apart and to make matters worse, his dog Max is hit by a passing car and is taken to an animal hospital.
Later that evening, Milly thinks she spots Eric on his roof during a thunderstorm and after climbing into the attic, she finds Eric, who is soaked from the rain and shivering with cold. As Milly pulls a blanket around him, he pulls out a box and from within it, he takes out a ring which he gives to Milly.
When the authorities arrive at Eric's house the next day, Milly sneaks Eric out, and the police chase them to the roof of the school during a carnival. Eric turns to Milly and speaks her name, the first word he has spoken thus far. Milly asks Eric if he really can fly, and he smiles and nods his head. He holds her hand and the two fall off the building. Just before hitting the ground, Milly and Eric begin flying hand in hand in plain view of the crowd around the carnival, which follows Milly and Eric down the streets of their town, shocking Charlene, Louis, Geneva, and Uncle Hugo. Eric brings Milly to her own window, tells her he loves her, and kisses her before he says goodbye and flies away.
Milly is heartbroken, but quickly realizes why Eric had to leave: Over the following weeks, spectators, policemen, and scientists mob the town, looking for an explanation and taking all of Eric's belongings away to be analyzed. Milly speculates that Eric too would have been taken by scientists had he remained.
Despite all the ensuing media attention, Eric's story becomes an inspiration to the people closest to him in his neighborhood. Eric's uncle beats his drinking problem and gets an excellent job. The Michaelsons' dog Max gets better. Louis dominates the bullies down the street using a water gun full of urine. Charlene masters the computer at work. Milly regains interest in her life and relationships with those around her. The movie ends with Milly looking out the window, waiting for Eric. As the sun sets, she throws out a paper airplane, which flies ever upward.
Louise Fletcher as Dr. Grenader (billed "and special thanks to Louise Fletcher")
Jake as Max the Dog
Reception
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 62% of 34 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.9/10. The site's consensus states: "Writer-director Nick Castle's careful command of tone keeps The Boy Who Could Fly from fully surrendering to its story's sentimental tendencies."[3]Roger Ebert of The Chicago Sun-Times gave the film 3 out of 4 stars and wrote ”Here is a sweet and innocent parable about a boy who could fly -- and about a girl who could fly, too.”[4]Variety wrote “The Boy Who Could Fly is a well-intentioned film that deals with mental illness, suicide and other weighty subjects and their effects on children in a general and understanding way.” Adding “Under Nick Castle's careful direction, scenes never become maudlin, which is remarkable considering the potential of the subject matter. Deakins and Underwood handle their difficult roles with amazing grace.”[5]
The film's score was composed and conducted by Bruce Broughton. Varèse Sarabande released a re-recording of highlights in 1986 on LP and cassette (later reissued on compact disc as part of the Varese Encore line), performed by the Sinfonia of London and conducted by the composer; in 2002 Percepto released the film recordings of Broughton's music as a limited edition promotional release. Intrada Records issued the complete score in 2015, including Stephen Bishop's "Walkin' On Air" (written and recorded for the film's end credits in lieu of Broughton's unused end title cue) and the brief song "Back Of The Bus" (written by screenwriter Nick Castle and Broughton).
The band The Coupe de Villes (composed of Nick Castle, horror director/composer/screenwriter/musician John Carpenter and director Tommy Lee Wallace) appear in a cameo on a television in a scene in the film playing their original song "Back on the Bus". The band is known today for their theme song "Big Trouble in Little China" for the movie with the same name directed by Carpenter, and their 1985 album Waiting out the Eighties.[7]
Jack is a 1996 American coming-of-age comedy-drama film co-produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The film stars Robin Williams, Diane Lane, Jennifer Lopez, Brian Kerwin, Fran Drescher, and Bill Cosby. Williams plays the role of Jack Powell, a boy who ages four times faster than normal as a result of a unique medical condition.
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The Cranes Are Flying is a 1957 Soviet war drama film directed by Mikhail Kalatozov at Mosfilm, written by Viktor Rozov, and starring Aleksey Batalov and Tatiana Samoilova. It depicts the cruelty and the damage done to the Soviet psyche as a result of the Second World War, which was known in the Soviet Union as the Great Patriotic War.
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Gaby Willis is a fictional character from the Australian television soap opera Neighbours, played by Rachel Blakely. The show's casting director spotted Blakely on the cover of a magazine and asked her to audition for the role of Gaby. Blakely received the part and she was introduced to the show during a period of roller-coaster ratings. She made her first appearance during the episode broadcast on 12 August 1991. Gaby was introduced as the eldest daughter of Doug and Pam Willis. She comes to Erinsborough after taking a business course in Japan. Gaby is characterised as beautiful, intelligent and the apple of her father's eye. She also has a temper, leading Blakely to call her fiery.
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Lucy Helyn Deakins is an American attorney and former actress best known for starring as Milly in The Boy Who Could Fly and originating the role of Lily Walsh on As the World Turns.
Anteojito y Antifaz, mil intentos y un invento is a 1972 Argentine animated comedy-drama film written and directed by Manuel García Ferré. The film premiered in Argentina on September 14, 1972. It was re-released on July 12, 2001.
Bedelia is a novel by Vera Caspary first published in 1945 about a blissfully happy newlywed couple in which the husband learns that his wife may have a criminal past. His growing suspicion and discovery of corroborating evidence lead him to think that she might be a serial killer, and that he could be her next victim.
Dragonfly is a 2002 supernatural thriller film directed by Tom Shadyac from a screenplay by Brandon Camp, Mike Thompson, and David Seltzer based on a story by Camp and Thompson. The film was produced by Gary Barber, Roger Birnbaum, Mark Johnson, and Shadyac. It stars Kevin Costner as a grieving doctor being contacted by his dead wife through his patients' near-death experiences. Upon release, Dragonfly was a critical and commercial failure, with the film only grossing $52.3 million against its $60 million production budget and was universally panned by critics, who described it as "sappy, dull and muddled" and "too melancholic and cliched".
The Woman I Love is a 1937 American drama film about a romantic triangle involving two World War I fighter pilots and the wife of one of them. It stars Paul Muni, Miriam Hopkins, and Louis Hayward. Anatole Litvak's Hollywood directorial debut was a remake of his French film The Crew, which was, in turn, based on Joseph Kessel's 1923 novel of the same name.
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Bedelia is a 1946 British melodrama film directed by Lance Comfort and starring Margaret Lockwood, Ian Hunter and Barry K. Barnes. It is an adaptation of the 1945 novel Bedelia by Vera Caspary with events relocated from the United States to Monaco and England.
The Little Vampire is a children's television series created in 1985 by the German Polyphon Film- und Fernsehgesellschaft, TVS and Canadian Norflicks Productions Ltd. The series is based upon the books written by Angela Sommer-Bodenburg.
Brad Willis is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours. He made his first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 31 October 1989. The character was initially played by Benjamin Mitchell, before Scott Michaelson took over the role two years later. Brad was re-introduced alongside his sister, Gaby, during a period of roller coaster ratings for the show. Michaelson revealed that as soon as he learnt he had won the role of Brad, he went surfing five days in a row, as he knew he was going to be busy over the upcoming months. Michaelson signed a new twelve-month contract with Neighbours in October 1992 and a year later, he announced he would be leaving the soap. Michaelson filmed his final scenes in November and departed on 15 December 1993.
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References
↑ Aubrey Solomon, Twentieth Century Fox: A Corporate and Financial History, Scarecrow Press, 1989 p260
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