About a Boy

***About a Boy*** is a 2002 British-American-French comedy-drama film produced by Jane Rosenthal, Robert De Niro, Brad Epstein, Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner, co-written and directed by brothers Chris Weitz and Paul Weitz with music by Badly Drawn Boy and written by Peter Hedges. It is an adaptation of the 1998 novel of the same name by Nick Hornby. The film stars are Hugh Grant, Nicholas Hoult, Toni Collette, and Rachel Weisz. The film at times uses double voice-over narration, when the audience hears both Will's and Marcus's thoughts.

The film was theatrically released on 26 April 2002 by Universal Pictures. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. Actors Hugh Grant and Toni Collette were nominated for a Golden Globe and a BAFTA Award respectively for their performances. The film received positive reviews from critics and it earned $130,549,455 on a $30 million budget.

## Plot

Will Freeman (Hugh Grant) lives a serene and luxurious lifestyle devoid of responsibility in London thanks to substantial royalties left to him from a successful Christmas song composed by his father. Will begins attending a support group, called SPAT (Single Parents Alone Together), for single parents as a way to meet women and as part of his ploy, invents a two-year-old son named Ned. His plan succeeds and he meets Suzie (Victoria Smurfit). Will brings Suzie on a picnic where he meets Marcus (Nicholas Hoult), the 12-year-old son of Suzie's friend, Fiona (Toni Collette). Will gains Marcus' interest and trust after he lies to a park ranger to cover up for Marcus killing a duck by throwing his mother's concrete loaf at it. Afterward, when Will and Suzie take Marcus home, they find Fiona in the living room, overdosed on pills in a suicide attempt.

Marcus attempts to fix Will up with his mother in order to cheer her up, but the plan fails after a single date. Instead, Marcus becomes close to Will after blackmailing him with the knowledge that "Ned" doesn't exist, and begins to treat him as a surrogate big brother. Marcus' influence leads Will to mature and he seeks out a relationship with Rachel (Rachel Weisz), a self-assured career woman, bonding over their experiences raising teenaged sons, though Will neglects to explain his relationship to Marcus. Marcus, in turn, becomes infatuated with Ellie (Natalia Tena) but gives up his romantic interest in favour of a close platonic friendship. Will, realizing that he desires true intimacy with Rachel, decides to be honest with her about his relationship with Marcus, but this backfires and their relationship ends.

One day, Marcus comes home from school to find his mother crying in the living room. Marcus attempts to unburden himself to Will, but Will is withdrawn following his break-up. Marcus decides to sing at a school talent show in order to make his mother happy. Will attempts to return to his previous lifestyle, but finds it unfulfilling and decides to help Marcus. He crashes a meeting of the single parents support group to find Fiona and beg her not to commit suicide. She assures him that she has no plans to do so in the immediate future and reveals that Marcus has decided to sing at the school show that day.

Will realizes this will be a huge embarrassment for Marcus and rushes to the school to stop him, but Marcus is steadfast in his decision to perform, believing it will be the only thing that will make his mother happy. Marcus steps on stage and sings his mother's favourite song - "Killing Me Softly with His Song", the student body starts to taunts him. Suddenly, Will appears onstage with a guitar to accompany Marcus for the rest of the song, turning himself into the butt of the joke and rescuing Marcus from humiliation and even more social suicide.

The following Christmas, Will hosts a celebration at his place with his new extended family. The idea of Will marrying Rachel is brought up and Marcus seems unenthusiastic. But Marcus reveals in voiceover that he's not against Will and Rachel marrying, merely that he believes that couples don't work on their own and that everyone needs an extended support system like he now has, concluding "No man is an island."

## Cast

* Hugh Grant as Will Freeman
* Nicholas Hoult as Marcus Brewer
* Toni Collette as Fiona Brewer
* Rachel Weisz as Rachel
* Natalia Tena as Ellie
* Sharon Small as Christine
* Nicholas Hutchinson as John
* Victoria Smurfit as Suzie
* Isabel Brook as Angie
* Ben Ridgeway as Lee, the bully
* Jenny Galloway as Frances / SPAT
* Augustus Prew as Ali
* Tim Rice (*uncredited archive footage*) as Himself