The Mysterious Case of Tom & Thomas
The mysterious case of "Tom & Thomas" also known as "The Christmas Twins" is a movie which stars a young Aaron Johnson, Sean Bean, Derek de Lint and Geraldine James which is a reasonable cast. I say mysterious partly because it barely got any screen time and partly because I am not entirely sure who this movie is for. Everything about it says children's movie but it lacks the fun and energy to appeal to kids with a style which seems to be trying to appeal to adults yet not offering them the adult storyline. Basically it ends up mixed up which is a shame because even though it failed to really grab me I could see what "Tom & Thomas" could have been.
Late at night a young boy called Tom (Aaron Johnson - Chatroom) witnesses staff at an orphanage behaving strangely as they stuff something in the back of a four by four and on spotting him give chase. Then all of a sudden Thomas (Aaron Johnson) wakes up and goes to see his dad, artist Paul (Sean Bean - Equilibrium), who thinks it is one of his dreams again. But it isn't as Tom also has these visions of Thomas and when they meet learn that they are twins separated at birth. But having this connection is not the only thing as Thomas gets mistaken for Tom and ends up kidnapped by the nefarious staff of the orphanage who plan to ship him abroad and sell him to a wealthy couple.
So to me the basic storyline of twins who are separated at birth and reconnect combined with some nefarious goings on with the staff at an orphanage is classic children's movie. In fact I could imagine how "Tom & Thomas" could have been if it had been a Disney movie made in the 60s combining elements of "The Parent Trap" with the classic inept evil henchmen characters from their cartoons.
But "Tom & Thomas" isn't a Disney movie and has a different tone and one which leaves me conflicted. You see the storyline is still very much a children's movie but the slow and serious tone doesn't have the energy and fun that a children's movie needs. In fact at times it feels like this is being made for grown ups with a slower, drier tone.
Now that is not the only issue as whilst it is nice to see Sean Bean getting to show a softer side and Aaron Johnson is good playing both Tom & Thomas the rest of the acting is a bit of a miss. There is something very stilted about it with the supporting cast failing to do anything more than recite lines. You almost get a sense that "Tom & Thomas" ended up a troubled production which for what ever reason didn't work out exactly as planned.
What this all boils down to is that "Tom & Thomas" ends up sadly a misfire, a movie which seems to be made for kids but in a some what grown up style which leaves it not knowing who its audience is.
