My Boy Jack DVD Review

Daniel Radcliffe temporarily leaves his role as Harry Potter to play Jack Kipling in the tragic My Boy Jack. This powerfully moving biopic is a great showcase for Radcliffe as well as David Haig, who plays Jack’s famous writer father Rudyard. It presents history while incorporating themes important to today’s generation: those of loss and the complications of war. My Boy Jack is authentic in everything from its storytelling to its sets. It is significant in both its history and its humanity.

In the chaotic time preceding Britain’s official entrance into World War I, Rudyard Kipling used his prominence as a writer to promote patriotism throughout the country. In this film based on real events, Jack finds himself smothered by his father’s patriotic encouragement. However, like his father, Jack feels that his place is in the military. Jack’s terrible myopia prevents him from joining the ranks, but his father uses his status to get the military to overlook that fact. The seventeen year-old Jack eventually works his way up to become a platoon leader and is sent off to fight in France days before his eighteenth birthday.

The entire Kipling family must deal with Jack’s absence. His mother Caroline and sister Elsie are particularly shaken up by his enlistment and shipment. They struggle to support Jack in his service while voicing their reservations to the stubborn Rudyard. However, they continue to support the war effort. A telegraph comes soon after saying that Jack is missing, which sends the family into a nervous frenzy. Caroline leads a pain-staking effort to try to find out his whereabouts. This effort provokes Rudyard to rethink his initial encouragement and what might have happened if Jack had stayed at home.

The complex war themes explored in this film touch into the deepest core of human emotion. They bring into question the love of country verses the love of family. Every time there is a war, families must face this problem and it never gets any easier to deal with. My Boy Jack takes this theme on particularly well by showing the complicated relationship between the national figure Rudyard and his obedient but antsy son. Caroline’s quiet reservations about military service makes Jack’s story even more tragic. Radcliffe, Haig, and Kim Cattrall as Caroline hit all the right notes as a famous family struck with such difficult issues. Haig is especially passionate as Rudyard, who must struggle with his decisions in the view of a national audience.

My Boy Jack is extremely authentic. It even uses the Kipling’s old house for the set. The dark and muted palate of the film accents the tragedy of Jack’s life, as well as the entire World War I effort. This shows how many layers the film has. It not only recounts the history of the Kiplings, but also connects it to the pervading world atmosphere of the early 1900s. Its war themes then bring the story into contemporary times as well. This brings all audiences into the film. However, you do not need to be interested in history to be invested in the emotionally moving life of Jack Kipling.

The few extras that are on this DVD are fascinating and worth more than many extra packages found on other DVDs. The deleted scenes add another element to the film because they focus more on Caroline’s restrained voice when dealing with her husband. The interview sheds so much light on the making of this film. David Haig explains his journey in creating the play of My Boy Jack and then writing the screenplay. At the end of the interview, he mentions the Iraq War and how it parallels Kipling’s story. This interview, like the film, is definitely a must-view.