In "Is Anybody There?" Michael Caine plays a retired stage magician whose memory and once-vaunted theatrical skills are failing.
But in real life, Caine, who's been acting professionally for more than 50 years, is still as spry and lively as ever. In fact, he performs his own sort of magic on this odd coming-of-age tale.
It probably wouldn't work at all without him. He's so charismatic and so watchable that we can forgive the film's occasional lapses in logic and storytelling.
It should be mentioned, though, that the film's sense of humor is a bit dark and mordant. That means it might be an acquired taste.
The title of the film, which is set in the 1980s, refers to the spiritual quandary of its main character, Edward (Bill Milner). The inquisitive 10-year-old lives in Lark Hall, an elderly care home that's run by his squabbling parents (Anne-Marie Duff and David Morrissey).
So it's no wonder that he's so obsessed with death, dying and the afterlife. He evens keeps a tape recorder underneath the bed of the more ill patients — so he can record their dying moments.
Edward has also become obsessed with Lark Hall's newest arrival: Clarence (Caine), who insists that his stay there is going to be "only temporary."
The two strike up an odd friendship, as Clarence becomes a father figure of sorts to Edward. (The boy's real father is off trying to carouse with the hired help, rather than providing a sterling role model for his son.)
There's a lot riding on the camaraderie between the two main characters. And it's eerie to see how much Milner ("Son of Rambow") looks like another talented young British actor, Freddie Highmore ("The Spiderwick Chronicles").
But Caine really sells us on the relationship and on this material. It is a shame screenwriter Peter Harness and director John Crowley ("Boy A") can't find more for Caine's fellow veterans Rosemary Harris and Leslie Phillips to do, though.
"Is Anybody There?" is rated PG-13 and features occasional strong profanity, some suggestive language and references (slang), as well as off-color humor, derogatory slurs and language (some based on age), some brief violent content (automotive mayhem and a stage mishap), brief drug use and references (pharmaceuticals and an IV), some brief sexual contact, and a brief flash of male nudity. Running time: 94 minutes.
E-mail: jeff@desnews.com