James Darcey is super as seven-year-old Archie in this implausible tale of a child neglected by his well-meaning but clueless mother and ne'er-do-well father, disappointed that his child can't seem to play football. And doesn't talk. The good people of Hitchin in Hertfordshire watch helplessly as Archie roams the streets alone, encountering various dangers such as the Farmers' Market and the local amateur orchestra, run by the handsome, tragedy-struck Tom. Meanwhile, the big bad social workers (who have been curiously absent for the past seven years) and the helpless schoolteacher (who leaves classes of 30 primary school-children unsupervised) decide enough is enough. Things take a darker turn when estranged Dad runs off with Archie and decides drugging him is a PLAN to ensure his son's affection. However, be prepared for a suitably uplifting and heart-warming ending, requiring hankies.
The character of Tom is nicely understated by Leo Fellan, who neatly negotiates his way between the car-crash acting of everyone else and the implausibilities of the plot. We are also left with the intriguing question - will clueless cake-lady land Tom - or the young Dad at the Farmers' Market?
