ClassyWas Excellent, smart action film.

Manthast Absolutely amazing

Roman Sampson One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

Cheryl A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

SnoopyStyle It's 80's England. Edward is an angry young boy. His mother has turned the family home into an old age home. He has lost his room to one of the old folks. His father is going through a mid-life crisis. He has questions about death and uses his tape recorder on the old people. One day, Clarence (Michael Caine) arrives almost running him over with his van. He's a magician suffering from the lost of his love. The two bitter souls find friendship and salvation in each other.It's a little dark comedy. The movie is best with Michael Caine and the little kid together. It would have been great if they take off on an extended road trip away from that grim home. It would have given Caine more screen time and the home is too grim. Caine does big emotional acting although it could have been great to have more broad comedy. Caine and the kid are good together. There are a couple of big powerful acting scenes for Caine.

MartinHafer Have you ever seen a film that has wonderful acting but is so utterly depressing that as you watch it, you're tempted to stuff your head into an oven? If not, and you actually want to, try watching "Is Anyone There?"--an incredibly depressing film starring Michael Caine and a young actor, Bill Miner.Edward (Miner) lives in an old folks home run by his parents. Basically, the place is full of people either waiting to die or who are out of touch with reality--a great place for a kid to grow up in, I know. An elderly magician, Clarence (Michael Caine) moves in and at first, he's hostile towards the boy. But the kid is VERY curious (sometime in ways that you wonder if he needs therapy) and eventually the two become friends....and then Clarence dies. Sure, stuff happens in between, but the film is about dying and loss, so this is the main thrust of the film. In addition, the boy deals with learning that his father wants to be unfaithful and he watches a guy get his finger chopped off. All in all, really depressing stuff and although much of this is the sort of stuff we have to deal with, do you really want to see a film like this? Great acting but utterly depressing and awful.

Ayal Oren It's a coming of age story told in an original way, starting with one of the basic premises of coming of age movies - facing death will make you understand life, and than carrying it to the extreme and doing a U turn just before the end is reached. Because if you're 10 years old and you live in an old people's home you're bound to face a lot of death and that should mean you'll do a lot of growing up real fast, too fast to have any time to really understand anything. That's the basic situation all you have left to do is add one more ingredient to the mix and you've got a real gem. This ingredient is the new resident in the house. That's as far as I go without spoilers. But I still want to say that this movie does it in such a reserved fashion that you know it has to be British. It doesn't always work this way, it works perfectly in this case, because of the straight forward approach of the director and because it's done with three superb actors doing roles that would get them a nomination for the academy awards if this film had a better PR man. Michael Cain is as good as I ever saw him Bill Milner is no less impressive as a 10 years old that grew up too quickly and have to re learn how to be a kid again so he can grow up the right way, and Anne-Marie Duff, is completing the trio with a supporting role that is the supporting pillar of the whole story but has no name (in the cast listing) just a family function - Mum.If you get the chance to see it, don't miss this one, it's a keeper.

dazski What a pure delight this film was.Maybe its because I also grew up in the 80's (albeit not in an old folks home) that the twinge of nostalgia attached to this film drew me in more than others. The decor was instantly recognisable and reminiscent of my grandparents house! I am a stereotypical British Michael Caine fan so I am unashamedly biased but all that considered I genuinely believe this to be one of his shinning moments.The script was well structured & the direction natural - I believed in those characters, in fact I almost felt like I might have met some of them a long time ago.Funny, touching, charming and yes most definitely a bit sad but sad in the nicest and most uplifting way possible.Was this a comedy, was it a drama??? I'm not sure, what I am sure about is that there aren't enough films like this.If you like run of the mill Hollywood films you wont like this – if you like films with a touch of humanity that make you think a little, go see it - trust me.