Is Anybody There? (2009) Critic Reviews

It is also hard not to see remnants of a younger Michael Caine -- beautifully seductive and enigmatic all those years ago in "Alfie." He has said his wife cried when she saw the performance; you understand why.Read the full review

Blending humor and heartbreak in a performance that makes a small movie a richly satisfying one, Caine truly is magic.Read the full review

While Caine and young Milner make for amusing adversaries, it's nice to see Crowley paying respect to his elders by populating the retirement home with a number of familiar faces, including those belonging to Rosemary Harris, Sylvia Syms and longtime "Coronation Street" resident Thelma Barlow.Read the full review

I can't really recommend the film, unless you admire Caine as much as I do, which is certainly possible.Read the full review

Caine is magnificent, and the film is worth a look for his contribution alone. But Milner is a promising actor, too, and the pairing of young and old is believable and occasionally very moving.Read the full review

Writer Peter Harness has based his screenplay on his own childhood experiences, but personal doesn't necessarily translate to fresh.Read the full review

What balances the movie is Mr. Caine's exceptional portrayal of old age as the accumulation of a lifetime's experience. In his performance the child, the youthful rogue and the forgetful codger all live at once.Read the full review

The script is always shakier than the performers trying to bring it across, and by the third act, it lets them down completely.Read the full review

Requires us to repress any thoughts about stale material and keep Caine's heartfelt performance front and center.Read the full review