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With five Harry Potter movies down and three more still on the way, Daniel Radcliffe doesn’t have a whole lot of time to play anyone but the famous boy wizard. But in My Boy Jack, a made-for-TV movie from the UK, Radcliffe gives a rare non-Harry-Potter performance as John (Jack) Kipling, the only son of author and poet Rudyard Kipling (played by David Haig).
In 1914, as the Germans make their way closer and closer to England, Rudyard Kipling is an outspoken lecturer on the inevitability of war, asserting that all young British men should do their civic duty and enlist. While his 17-year-old son, John, has every intention of joining the navy, however, he can’t seem to make it past the physical—because his poor eyesight is seen as a danger to himself and others.
Unwilling to accept his son’s fate and help him find a desk job instead, Kipling pulls some strings to get John accepted in the army—and, with extra work and determination, he’s even promoted to commander. But when John is reported missing in battle, Kipling’s wife, Caroline (Kim Cattrall), takes it upon herself to find her son.
The BBC is known for its exceptional made-for-TV movies—and My Boy Jack is no exception. It’s a heavily dramatic film—which makes it almost exhausting to watch—but it’s a remarkably powerful drama nonetheless.
My Boy Jack offers its audience so many lessons—and asks so many questions. On one hand, it clearly depicts Kipling’s fervor for the war. Though he’s closely connected to the war office—and he often hears about the frequent failures of British equipment and the high numbers of British casualties—he’s too set in his ways to protect his own son. It’s excruciating to watch—because you know that it can’t end well. And you can feel the pain and the heartbreak that Kipling’s wife and daughter (played by Carrie Mulligan) are forced to suffer in silence.
On the other hand, though, the film also offers a different view of war—from John’s perspective. It shows the young soldiers, with their various reasons for enlisting—whether for national pride or financial need. It shows the soldiers’ training and their almost eager anticipation of the thrill of action. But once they actually find themselves in the trenches, preparing to face the enemy, it clearly depicts the crippling doubt and fear that they’re forced to overcome.
Though Radcliffe is a bit stiff in his performance as the title character, it’s still a respectable change from his boy-wizard persona. And with the help of a thoughtful script and a capable cast, he manages to make My Boy Jack a noteworthy—though emotionally exhausting—war story.
