The movie deals with the disintegration of the Compton family in the year 1969 in Swaziland during the waning days of British Empire in South East Africa.

As a 11 year old child it was a miserable childhood for young Ralph (Played by Zachary Fox). He had to fake asleep in the back seat of the family car, while his mother had sex with his father's best friend in the front seat. Not only he had to witness his mother's adultery but also had to endure the drunken behaviour of his father Harry (Gabriel Byrne). Soon his mother ran away with her lover and Harry turned out to be a total drunkard.

Unable to cop up with the situation, young Ralph was sent to boarding school. There he is shown, transformed into a mature boy ( played by Nicholas Hoult) while playing a cricket match. After spending three years at the boarding school Ralph returned home, hoping things will be better with at least his father. But Harry was not only divorced but he had married an American ex-air hostess named Ruby (Emily Watson) and he was drinking more than ever. Ruby ridiculed the silly expressions of the British, like "toodle-pip" and "hobbly-jobbly", and called it so much "wah-wah".

Initially Ralph was not so fond of Ruby, but later as his father's drinking went out of control Ralph started to bond with Ruby. Find out what is going to happen to the Compton family as the British prepared to hand over Swaziland to their King and leave that country.

The directorial debut of the English actor Richard Grant is an excellent portrait of his own childhood story. He has narrated an unusual tale with emotionally touching vibrancy and resonance. Completely shot in Swaziland, he has made use of the location very well and has splendidly captured the majestic colonial culture of the British. He has portrayed the importance of the cricket match as well as the teatime in the British aspect. He  put together a wonderful cast, but has failed to develop some of the characters to their full extent.

The young actors Fox and Hoult as Ralph have presented a good performance. Their presentations are so authentic at certain point that the audience will really feel sympathy for them. Emily Watson as Ruby is marvelous. She is a joy to watch. Rest of the cast also does a good job.

As the story is told through the eyes of young Ralph, there is a very touching side to it. Some people will find it difficult to watch the film. As a whole it is a poetic tale of a disintegrated family in an emerging nation and it is a decent entertainer.

We rate this movie GOOD.