Irishchatter This isn't the first time Christina Ricci disappointed me, she's a great little actress but this isn't the best movie she has ever done in her film career. That's only just my opinion!I felt the movie was very confusing, are we concentrating on Christina Ricci's character or the boy. Even though the plot says it's about the boy but it's also about Dino Chalmers. Which one are we concentrating on here? Thanks to the movie making me bored, I did not get to see Christina Ricci's and Ruby Rose's love scene. Yeah it was my fault for not seeing it but really, Ruby Rose didn't seem to appear much. It would be far better off if they concentrating on one story and not have them lumped on top of each other! This movie is all over the shop, it seriously needs redecorating!

Objectivity Make no mistake - anyone who gives less than 6 to this film is prejudiced, whether they know it or not, or they are white Australians who do not want to accept that there other "Australias" within Australia.If you watch this film with nothing other than curiosity as to where it will take you, you cannot help but be blown away by the simple power of this film.Kudos to the screenplay, kudos to the director, kudos to the obvious off-the-cuff but first class acting, particularly in the prison scenes and the first rehearsal, and kudos for putting it all together as if you are watching Life rather than a film.It is a film with so many stories : Liam's of course, but, also, his mother's story, his teacher's story (Christina Ricci), his brother's story, his school's story, the gubba teacher's story, his brother's story, and last but not least, his father's story. All of these stories grab you by the throat but you have to not be prejudiced to "see" all those stories.A brilliant film.

MartinHafer Christina Ricci is a very difficult Hollywood actress to categorize. While she has been involved in quite a few projects that are very commercially oriented (such as the god-awful "Sleepy Hollow"), she also has chosen many odd projects with far less mass appeal (such as "Pecker" and "Pumpkin") and has deliberately avoided the typical starlet persona. So, I wasn't all too surprised to see her, of all things, in a micro- budgeted independent film from Australia...yes, Australia.In many ways, Around the Block is a lot like the old Sidney Poitier film "To Sir, With Love" combined with "Hamlet". I know this sounds strange--but the similarities become obvious as you watch the film. Like "To Sir, With Love", the main character in the film is a well meaning and super- idealistic foreign teacher who has come to work with disadvantaged city kids. Some might find this sort of idea a bit paternalistic--like it takes some American-type to come save the poor children of the world. And, while this might be one interpretation of the film, there is far more to it than this. This is because the teacher herself is a bit lost--and the movie is bound to turn a few heads with Ricci and the subplot involving her struggle with bisexuality. Again, I see this as Ricci walking to her own drummer in playing this character--and her rather steamy sex scene with a woman she meets in a bar will probably offend a few folks and inspire others. I definitely do NOT remember this sort of plot element in To Sir, With Love!As far as the "Hamlet" element goes, you get it in double doses. First, this teacher wants to put on a production of this Shakespeare play using the inner city students from her school--and there is a widespread belief that these kids could never appreciate the play or rise to the occasion to successfully put on the play for the community. Second, the kid playing Hamlet, Liam (ably played by Hunter Page-Lochard) is in a position to recreate the play in his real life. This is because his father is in prison--and the jerk is pressuring his sons to avenge him by killing the man responsible for his incarceration. I liked this angle, as it made me realize for the first time that in the classic play, Hamlet's dead father actually could be seen as THE villain in the play, as he destroys his son in order to achieve revenge. On top of these themes, you add a lot of hip-hop culture and discussions of lost Aboriginal youth and you have this film.So is this melange about two characters searching for a sense of identity any good? Well, I liked it. It managed to take familiar topics and make them quite unique and original. It also gives you insight into bigotry and dissatisfaction that folks outside Australia might not even realize exist. It's answer to all this might seem to be a bit simplistic, but at least it does address these problems and challenges the viewer. In other words, the film might offend you but at least it gets you to think and won't bore you.

Stephan Lorenzen I'll admit I downloaded this based on the fact that Christina Ricci was the lead in it. To my surprise, it was the acting of the supporting cast that really led the way here. It is a very different character for Ricci, who has been sort of typecast as an oddball since her early Addams Family days. As a viewer, you are immediately taken in by the boy Liam who has secured the role of Hamlet in the school play. If you are a Shakespeare buff like I am, you will love the Hamlet plot lines and dynamics running throughout the film. You can see hints of that from the trailer but I didn't know just how central to the story Hamlet would be until I saw it for myself. It's a modern twist on an age-old tale, and with that, Around The Block is able to bring something new to the table.