Bernie Reubens (Gregg Sulkin) is a precocious, semi-neurotic and newly discovered asthmatic British child about to go through the time honored tradition of turning 13 and throwing a ridiculously over the top party. The fact is that Bernie happens to harbor more than a bit of sibling jealousy toward his older brother, Alvie (Ben Newton), and is determined that his "coming out" party (so to speak) is going to top his brother's in every way. Bernie is about the most prototypical bullied, nerdy kid you can imagine, and Sulkin's heavily bespectacled presence makes the most of the boy's unfortunate plight.

Bernie's parents are no picnic either. His father, Manny (Eddie Marsan) is a curt, distracted and obsessive compulsive corner grocer fighting a losing battle against a supermarket chain that's just moved in next door to his business and is sapping away all of his customers, just when Bernie is demanding a fête of preposterously expensive proportions. And in one of her most remarkable performances in years, Helena Bonham Carter inhabits Bernie's mother, Esther, offering a beautiful glimpse at the one ostensibly "sane" element in this totally dysfunctional group, and bringing a depth of both comic and dramatic nuance to a role that could easily have become a stereotype. Stephen Rea also contributes some nice moments as the asthma doctor Bernie starts seeing, and Richard Katz is both very funny and just a little scary as the blind Rabbi who is guiding (for better or worse, considering his disability) Bernie through this life passage.

While this is a slow moving, if often wryly amusing and touching, film in its first half, once the basic plot machinations have been set into motion, we're off on a beautifully rendered recreation not only of one era, the mid-1960's, but two whole sub-cultural zeitgeists, the soccer obsessed British at large and, more specifically, Jewish boys' penchant for putting all their festival eggs in one Bar Mitzvah basket. These two diodes play out against each other in ways that may not be laugh out loud hilarious (though there are some priceless sight gags in the piece), but which are always very real and very human.

Sixty Six may actually hit a little too close to home for any kid who has felt, a la Tommy Smothers, that "Mom always liked [the other kid] best," or indeed for any kid who has ever suffered the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune at being the last picked for a school football game. Sulkin is marvelous showing the hurt behind Bernie's occasional bravado, and Bonham Carter has a few moments toward the end of this film that are a study in minimalist acting with maximum effect. And if the ending plays a little too much to a sort of Rudy feel good extravaganza, complete with cheering sports fanatics, on a personal level, the story of a disconnected father and son finally finding their common bond may in fact bring a lump to many throats, whether or not you give one whit about English soccer or Bar Mitzvahs.

The DVD

Video:
Sixty Six arrives in a nice, if grainy, enhanced 1.78:1 transfer that offers a nice palette of "mod" mid-1960's colors and patterns, all of which pop nicely on the screen, mixed with the more demure lifestyle colors of a middle class British family. The film's golden-amber ambience in some scenes is beautifully rendered here, with contrast good and detail very good.

Sound:
Both the DD 2.0 and 5.1 soundtracks are certainly fine for a film like this that is largely dialogue driven. In fact, the 5.1 may feel like a bit of overkill until the sports element comes into play, when both low end and surround channels are utilized effectively. There are no subtitles on this release.

Extras:
Director Weiland's commentary is way above average, as this is such a personal story for him. Also on tap are text pieces on the 1966 World Cup Final, as well as the Weiland connection to the film's genesis. Along with two trailers is a radio interview with Weiland and Sulkin.

Final Thoughts:
This is a heartfelt and charming film that mixes both comedy and drama in about equal measure, and features a brilliantly understated performance by Bonham Carter. Highly recommended.

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"G-d made stars galore" & "Hey, what kind of a crappy fortune is this?" ZMK, modern prophet