WARREN: Movie examines need for a father

Roland C. Warren

I recently had an opportunity to screen the new Miramax movie, "The Boys Are Back," which takes an honest look at the impact a father's presence and absence has on his children.

Inspired by a true story, the film stars Clive Owen as Joe Warr, a newly widowed dad struggling to figure out what true fatherhood means. He left his first son, Harry, behind after divorcing Harry's mother. And before his second wife's death, though physically present, he is emotionally absent from the life of his younger son, Artie.

Having grown up without my father, I was struck by the authenticity of the film and its ability to genuinely capture the range of emotions children with absent or not fully engaged dads experience. Indeed, Harry and Artie are archetypes of an experience that has become far too common. In my case, they speak words I was unable or unwilling to say to my own dad. And, like me, Harry in particular had a "hole in his soul" in the shape of his dad that left a wound not easily healed.

Undoubtedly, some will casually dismiss this film as just another movie about bad dads or heroic single parents. Joe uses some unorthodox and permissive parenting techniques, so some may choose to focus on the "trees" of his risky methods. To do so would be to miss the "forest" of how fatherhood, for good or for ill, affects children, and all of us, in a profound and lasting way.

The broader reality is the film does not only speak to people like me, it also speaks for millions. There are 24 million American children - one in three overall and two of three in the black community - living in father-absent homes. Social scientists have produced a body of research conclusively showing that when children lack a good father, they are at a higher risk for a host of negative economic, health, emotional, educational and psychological outcomes.

President Obama - a fellow traveler on the journey as a fatherless boy and author of "Dreams From My Father" - has made the connection between the personal and the societal impact of father absence. One of first things he has done as president is to start a national conversation about fatherhood through a series of town-hall meetings. Incidentally, Mr. Owen, who not only stars in the film, but also was its executive producer, grew up without his father; I am not surprised by how involved he is in the film.

This timely film is not fiction - it reflects real life. National Fatherhood Initiative's national survey of dads' attitudes on fathering, "Pop's Culture," found that more than 9 in 10 fathers agree being a dad is a very important to them. Yet the survey also found that nearly half feel they lack fathering skills and a majority feel they can be replaced by moms or other men. Like Joe, their number one obstacle to good fathering is work responsibilities. Like Joe, whose late wife appears to him with parenting advice, fathers report that when they need support, they turn to their wives or the mother of their kids.

There are millions of Harrys in the United States, crying out for the universal need to be affirmed by one's father. There are millions of Arties out there, whose fathers are "there," but are not there. And there are millions of Joes who want to be good dads but are unable or unwilling to do what needs to be done for their children.

There is hope. I changed the course of my family's history. I married the mother of my children and have committed to her and to our children for the long haul, working to be the fully present father and husband I did not see in my own childhood.

"The Boys are Back" reflects this same hope. As the film ends, Joe drives off into a sunrise with his sons safely buckled into their seats, and you get a sense that he and his sons are finally finding their way. No doubt, the journey will be a bumpy one. No doubt, boys will be boys. But, with a committed dad along for the ride, there is no doubt his sons will be better boys, better men and better fathers. This is my hope for every boy who is traveling the same road I traveled.

• Roland C. Warren is the married father of two sons and president of the National Fatherhood Initiative (www.fatherhood. org). He can be reached at rwarren@fatherhood.org.

AS A father of two boys and a proud South Australian, the parallels between director Scott Hicks' life and his latest film The Boys Are Back are hard to ignore.

The tale of a widower's struggle to raise and connect with his two young boys resonates with Hicks, who shot the film in Adelaide and on the Fleurieu Peninsula last year and attended its premiere in Adelaide last night.

Hicks says when he was approached to look at the script several years ago he never imagined he would end up filming in his home town, nor did he realise how touched he would be by the narrative.

"It appealed to me because fatherhood has been such an important part of my own life," Hicks said.

"I've got two sons - who are now both grown up - I could connect with (lead character) Joe's struggles as he tries to father and make connections with his sons.

"Kids don't come with an instruction manual, you have to figure out how they work," he said.

"What appealed to me is it seemed like a take on fatherhood that I haven't seen before in cinema.

"Single fatherhood is a very complicated and difficult thing."

Hicks said that while he had an enduring love of Adelaide, he hadn't originally intended filming here.

"There was certainly a very timely intervention by the State Government to get involved in the film and that succeeded in bringing it (the production) to Adelaide.

"I get asked a lot `why do you stay in SA?' and I've (now) got a good opportunity to show people. It wasn't my intention in making it but it's a nice by-product."

With international reviews already hailing the movie as Hicks' greatest film since his breakthrough Australian feature Shine, the award-winning director said he's not fazed by the comparisons.

"I've got no problem with that. Shine is always going to be there as a very particular, hugely important marker in my career.

"How often in your life do you get to make something like that?"

He is reading two new scripts but has not decided on a future project.

"I've read some very good scripts recently and I'm in the process of getting the actors interested and looking at finance.

"I don't know which, if any, will be the next."

Hicks didn't rule out the possibility of again filming in Adelaide.

"Obviously I think it's about the right material and right story (but) I find myself wondering if we could shoot it here," he said.

Hicks said the film's star, British actor Clive Owen, was sad that he could not attend the Australian premiere in Adelaide last night.

"It's a real shame he can't be here, he just started shooting a new film in America.

"He asked me to send his best wishes.

"He was really hoping to be here, but the luck of timing didn't work out which is a real shame," he said.

Playing with the boys

Booth's latest film, The Boys Are Back, directed by Australian Scott Hicks, (Shine) is a delicate exploration of intimate relationships. In it, Clive Owen plays a sports journalist and bereaved father who, until the catastrophic point of losing his wife to cancer, has spent most of his time on the road and is therefore somewhat distant from his children. Based on the real-life experience of Simon Carr, Owen's character, Joe, struggles to cope with a bewildered, motherless child and another angry son from a previous marriage.

Joe and his sons form an anarchic, boisterous boys' club, where dangerous activities and water-bombing the windows are "actively encouraged" and housework and rules are just too dull to even contemplate. Booth plays his love interest - even if she does get rather annoyed at his failure to succumb to her charms because he is still grieving.

Shot in South Australia, The Boys Are Back is filled with luminous light and nuance, an interior journey whose sadness is offset by beautiful landscapes and the sense of moving towards something better. This soft-hued role is something of a departure for Owen, who is better known for playing hard men who are handy with a gun. "I definitely think this is closer to who he is as a person," is Booth's opinion. "He's a family man. On set he's very funny, always cracking jokes, which was great for me because, to be honest, I was very nervous. In the rehearsal room it was 'Oh my god.' But he suited it so well."