About a perfect movie

About a Boy is one of the best films I've ever seen, and it is the best performance Hugh Grant has given thus far. His impeccable comic timing has never been more brilliantly utilized; in fact, everything he's ever done up until this point has been, it seems, a preparation for his role in this film.

Beautifully written and realized to perfection, this movie about accepting the human need to love and be loved finds the right tone from the beginning and manages to carry it through to the very end. It's indecently witty, humblingly perceptive, extraordinarily moving, and above all, REAL - there is not a single moment in the film that does not ring true. And it never gets too cutesy or corny or - most amazing of all - heavy handed. From the second it begins until the credits are rolling, this film WORKS. Peter Hedges and the Weitz brothers, who were involved in another film I love, Chuck & Buck, have written a truly remarkable screenplay based on Nick Hornsby's novel and they direct this film with confidence, grace and intelligence, getting magnificently authentic performances from the cast. Nicholas Hoult in particular is - I am running out of adjectives - superlative as Marcus, the boy who 'adopts' Grant's character Will, and Toni Collette has never been more effective. I especially loved (minor spoiler alert) how Grant's and Marcus' characters each had their own narratives going, relating their respective points of view of what was happening - this plot device works brilliantly, adding a remarkable dimension of clarity to the film.