Delivering Milo (2001) User Reviews

Reincarnation

[jotix100 · 7/10 · 26 June 2006]

What would happen if a soul that is ready to reincarnate refuses to be born? Well, in the case of Milo, a young angelic child who loves to play card tricks with the other children in heaven, he is not at all convinced he wants to abandon his present quarters for an unsure time on earth.

Never fear, Elmore Dahl, who has been also in the same area, although not where Milo is residing, is enlisted to accompany the boy for a tour of what would be his new home: Manhattan. The first thing Elmore does is to take the young boy, who is having a hard time adjusting to his new surroundings, shopping at Bloomingdale's. After all, if he is going to reside in New York City, he'd better be well dressed! Elizabeth, the young mother to be, has had problems in her own life. Her own father left her when she was a girl, and although happily married to Kevin, a young artist, even the impending arrival of their baby doesn't fill the void in her life. When she appears to be ready to deliver, it turns to be a false alarm, because of Milo's refusal to be born at that moment.

Life on earth turns out to be what Elmore was looking for. He made a hard bargain in order to guide Milo around. When he meets an attractive woman, they take a side trip to Atlantic City, bringing Milo along because, since the boy is lucky playing cards, he wants to capitalize on the fact. Little does he know children are not allowed in the casinos. Elizabeth, who also had come to Atlantic City because she feels lucky too, meets Milo and bond. This convinces Milo to take the trip back to earth, but Elmore is duped since he has to bring the boy back, and he will not be able to go out again. Since his job is accomplished Elmore receives a complimentary move "upstairs".

Nick Castle's film is a fantasy. While most comments in this forum tend to be negative, we thought it was a light comedy with charming characters, and although we realize where Mr. Castle is taking us, the ride proves to be fun.

The film marks the film debut of Anton Yelchin, an angelic looking child actor, who has gone to bigger, and better, things. He is totally adorable without being bratty. His low key presence in the film works well. Albert Finney appears as Elmore, the man who dares to bargain with a superior force. Mr. Finney is fine conveying what this man is like and he gets to recognize where he went wrong in his own life. Bridget Fonda plays Elizabeth, the expecting mother. Campbell Scott, a wonderful actor, doesn't have anything to do as Kevin. Leslie Ann Warren, Allison Lohman, and the others in the cast to a good job under Mr. Castle's direction.

Watching this film without expectations will probably will have the right effect on the viewer thanks to Nick Castle and his collaborators.

A beautiful and comforting movie.

[detwings · 7/10 · 31 August 2006]

I, being a mere teenager, feel quite awful being surrounded by the events in the outside world. This movie really made me realize the better things about life.

In my opinion, Albert Finney, no matter how hammy his acting was, did quite well considering what kind of character he was playing.

Anton Yelchin also wasn't bad, but I hated the character he was playing, for I feel that Milo was acting selfish and annoying.

Overall, I find that this movie is quite enjoyable for a quiet Sunday morning, or anytime you are feeling a little down. This movie, though having a religious element, can really be enjoyed by all. Come on people, it's just a movie, not a display of what religion is right or wrong. It just gives you something to watch.

Delivering mediocrity

[SkippyFosterKane · 5/10 · 27 July 2001]

Probably a bad combination: watching a movie like this while reading William Goldman's "Which Lie Did I Tell?", among other things an incisive (and often hilarious) dissection of all the things that can go wrong in the development of a screenplay. So, here I am in an airplane, with "Which Lie Did I Tell?" in my lap, and "Delivering Milo" on the screen...

If I had to give the shortest accounting of the problem with "Milo," it would be: if you know where you're going, the journey better be the part with the surprises. And there just aren't a lot of surprises. This is a screenplay that starts with a cute concept, wraps with a cash-cow ending, and leaves out anything memorable or really enjoyable in the middle.

Performances were, well, mediocre. Albert Finney was good in many places, but has morphed distractingly into William "Priceline" Shatner's doppleganger in appearance. I kept thinking this would have been a *great* showcase role for George Carlin; he would have put quite a bit more edge and humor into it.

Bridget Fonda was fine but not spectacular, the actor playing her husband veers heavily into Robert Hays territory, and Lesley Ann Warren is pretty much wasted as yet another brassy dame, a muted turn on her role in Victor/Victoria. The kid playing Milo was apparently cloned off of Elijah Wood Jr.'s genetic material, although not entirely successfully.

But the "camp counselors" ...what happened here? Did they raid a sophomore high school drama class en masse, with no consideration for who might have talent? Or did the director just think it would make things even more zany and off-kilter if everyone trotted out their most bogus, high-falutin' accent? I did think Alison Lohman was awfully pretty, though.

All that being said, I still got all watery-eyed at the ending, and the one riff I *didn't* see hurtling through the Holland Tunnel hours in advance was the very last little tidbit, which I did like. But touching family moments will do that to me every time -- you can reel me in with an AT&T ad -- that doesn't mean the filmmakers didn't waste a moderately interesting premise by forgetting to write a compelling middle.

5/10

beautiful

[Kirpianuscus · 30 November 2017]

its beauty seems be an old fashion one. and this does it special. because it is one of films who looking for values in convincing way. and, for an admirer of Anton Yelchin, like me, it is a kind of refuge. for the others, I suppose, it is a great film for admirable performances, for a story sweet-bitter, for Bridget Fonda performance and for Albert Finney proposing a real provocative perspective about duty of an angel and the virtues of friendship. so, a real, real beautiful film. with entire classic potential.

unusual plot foregoes creative possibilities in favor of 'ghost'-like sentimentality

[toclement · 4/10 · 19 January 2001]

I went to see this on the strength of Albert Finney alone. He's one of my favorite actors and he rarely fails to deliver. I'm not sure if the plot is interesting or just silly: it's about a little boy who is about to be born, but as his mother goes into labor, he refuses to come out! This sends God and the whole human being factory into a crisis and Albert Finney is called out of purgatory to try and convince the boy to change his mind and decide to want to be born. So Finney takes the unborn boy for an adventure in the Big Apple in hopes of showing him all the reasons he should want to live.

Despite the ridiculousness of the plot, I could have accepted it if the director had not tried to turn this into your typical Hollywood sentimental moralistic message film. Directorially, the film was rendered unbearable by a horrible soundtrack of the stock sentimental music that Hollywood directors seem incapable of resisting.

He further butchered the somewhat unconventional story by giving away its hand at every moment. Whatever twists and turns were in store in the plot were completely given away by the way the story unraveled. It was as if the director assumed the audience is just a bunch of idiots who cannot see the obvious hints coming from a mile away.

Even Finney in his performance, though satisfactory, seemed a bit awkward and out of place; and the little boy with curly locks, though he was supposed to be cute, was in fact rather dull. Bridget Fonda seemed intent on trying to duplicate Demi Moore's performance in 'Ghost', shedding tears at a moment's notice.

I understand that the film has been unsuccessful thus far at getting distribution in the U.S., which surprises me as I think it has the box office potential to be a modest hit, appealing to both kids and sentimental adults. As far as the quality goes, it's not an awful film, it's just not very good. (4 out of 10)

Enjoyable but not exceptional

[Snootz · 5/10 · 13 August 2020]

If one goes into this film knowing the plot and then complains that the concept is ridiculous, I would have to question that person's sanity. This is a fantasy; anyone taking it seriously lives in more of a fantasy world than this film.

That said, does the film deliver? Acting: excellent all the way around; all of the actors deliver. Filming, music, sound, everything his fine.

The problem is with the writing and subsequent directing. This film had a basic purpose, that purpose was well-established from the very beginning. But beyond that much of the presentation feels two-dimensional, without really getting down to the heart of the issues. The use of card reading as a major plot tool was a let-down. Instead of establishing solid, good reasons for the finale they resort to a rather lame plot device.

There is one moment in the film where an emotional connection is made. Beyond that, while the characters were enjoyable and Finney was certainly a delight to watch, the entire film misses the personal, emotional connections that were essential to a film of this nature. In short, the director was so busy taking Milo (and the audience) on a sight-seeing tour, they regularly missed the heart of the story. They tried to make up for that in the end in the diner, but still didn't quite hit the target.

This is one of those "could have been good" films, and probably one of the rare films that was 1 1/2 hours long and could have stood to be 2 hours, with more personal interaction and heart in the concept. As it is, while I enjoyed watching it, the end left me feeling somewhat let down and disappointed. They could have done better with the plot elements... and should have.

A mostly listless comedy fantasy

[SimonJack · 5/10 · 24 May 2018]

"Delivering Milo" is a mild fantasy set between earth and a mythical place where young children are waiting their turn to be born. It's sort of an eternal kids' domain where children around seven years old wait until it's their turn to enter life. They then walk through a door into a bright light and the next scene is a mother delivering a baby.

Milo is a boy who doesn't want to leave the comfort of the place he's in. He's nervous about the unexpected. He'd rather stay where he is. It's not nirvana or heaven. There seems to be no activity other than sitting around and waiting. There are no things known in life - eating, games, shows, working, etc. It's just being. You might say Milo has no ambition or interest in anything. The trouble is that he can stop the whole process of children being born by not going through the door. This is just one of a few kooky aspects about this fantasy about life, living and being born.

Another one is the guy who's given another chance to reach a goal... probably heaven. He's in some other place that's not purgatory or hell, and he comes to take Milo in his current age to New York city to see what life is really like. Albert Finney plays Elmore Dahl, who has charge of Milo for this one day or two.

Another part of the story is about Milo's mother and father, as they wait for his delivery. She's nervous and worries that her husband may leave her. Her dad had abandoned her mother and her after she was born. Putting two and two together, one might guess where this film goes from there. After one day in which no children were born anywhere in the world, Milo meets his mom and decides to take the step to be born. Before that he was turned off on life because of the environment that Elmore favored.

Finney's character is distasteful, and doesn't seem to fit the story very well. Except for Bridget Fonda and Campbell Scott as Milo's parents, the characters and story seem listless.

This is supposed to be a comedy fantasy, but it's a real stretch to find much humor. Here's a line that reflects the type and level of humor. Elmore Dahl, "Go ahead, you'll love it. There's no way anyone can teach you about the pleasure of eating. You gotta do it yourself."

I enjoy truly inspirational and moving stories. But, for the life of me, I can't see what some other reviewers find is so uplifting in this film. Unless it's Milo's desire at the end to be born. And, that's just the natural inclination of all new life.

Call me sentimental, but I thought the movie was excellent

[advocate · 10/10 · 16 March 2002]

I saw this movie just a few hours ago at the Cleveland International Film Festival and I found it to be an excellent movie.

I must strongly disagree with the other reviewers who've panned the movie.

I'll admit that the movie has a few Hollywood elements and better-than-indie production values. It also has an understated, but important, plot element that involves religion. It's also sentimental, it could be classified as a date movie or even a "family movie."

This is a wonderful movie about freedom and redemption. I found it well-crafted, well-acted (Albert Finney is just terrific) and for a movie with a bit of fantasy, very much believable on that level with few plot holes. Yes, you just might figure out a few things half or three-quarters of the way thru the flick, but so what.

I would urge anyone thinking about seeing this movie to reject the too-critical reviews. It's not a Coppola flick and it doesn't pretend to be. But it's not "Ghost" either. This movie delivers what it promises - a good yarn, told, acted and directed well.

On a slightly peripheral note, I see that this movie, finished in 2000, has yet to find a distributor. This movie would be a winner at the box office. I'm not a moviemaker, but I have a few friends who are. I've heard them complain about not being able to find distributors for their very indie movies. NOW I understand.

Want to just have a nice, enjoyable evening out at the movies? Then go see Milo.

Don't be desperate, wait till the end to get pleased! And don't forget the peanuts...

[RJGomes · 5/10 · 13 September 2007]

At the store this film looks very attractive, not because of the price, but because the cast includes Bridget Fonda and Albert Finney, two versatile masters of cinema. The title sends us to a story of childhood times and when you want to became a father in the nearest years it sounds perfect to start a night for two… Then, I bought it without previously took a carefully look at the IMDb rating or comments, something that I usually do before spending some precious Euros (it cost 5€ in sale).

Even as I gave it the rating 5/10, I'm grateful that I didn't search the IMDb, because I wouldn't bought it and if truth be told it was a good deal. The film is everything less than perfect, but it has a meaning, a message, a intention that you rarely see in this kind of movie, that in fact, isn't a kids or a grown one, but a family motion picture, that you should see all together, and use it to give your children a lesson of life, nothing else, as it isn't entertaining.

Bridget Fonda and Albert Finney are extremely right for the position, and if their name wasn't enough, almost all the rest of the cast are so bad that they are the only who really seems professionals. The director and probably nearly the whole crew wasn't capable to do what the story justify.

Without special filming locations, visual effects or a great additional score, it's the type of picture that you'll think many times that you're really just spending your priceless time, however you'll get a smile and be surprised at the end, so moving and unpredicted that you'll never forget... I bet on it!.

In my opinion, it's a good beginning for a future remake. The screenplay needs to be revised to take out the boring times, but I'm completely sure that that theme in Spielberg hands

Delivering Milo will become a minor classic.

[kevinaldrich · 10/10 · 5 April 2001]

While I don't have time to go into the detail that the previous reviewer provided, I have a completely different take on "Delivering Milo." I enjoyed the film as did my children and I believe it will generate plenty of word of mouth recommendations and have a strong life in video. It is a melodrama but, hey, Stephen King calls "The Green Mile" a melodrama. Albert Finney does a great job as the n'er-do-well from Limbo and Bridget Fonda never looked more beautiful as a nine-months-pregnant woman. The supporting cast is great.

"It's A Wonderful Life" with a Twist.

[mdm-11 · 10/10 · 16 March 2002]

"Delivering Milo" delivered big time! Albert Finney shines as the "guardian angel" sent down to Earth to (so he thinks) help "some kid" see within a 24 hour day that the life the kid was about to begin would be worth living. Refusing to "be born" would not only end the kid's life, but also that of all babies who were to be born henceforth.

The premise is even more outrageous than that certain 1946 Frank Capra "sleeper", but I still enjoyed this film very much. Seeing the "man-about-town" Finney character enjoy his "day back on his own turf", constantly loored by temting women from his past, is fun to watch. When at the very end Finney gives up on the kid who seems to have made up his mind NOT to "go for the deal", the old man (and the kid) make a discovery that changes everything.

Regarding those who criticised the casting choices of the "Heavenly Officials", I strongly disagree here as well. I found the fact that these characters were all played by youngsters refreshing and effective. Why do we always look for the Lionel Barrymoore type to give sound advise or direction? Why can't a 16 year old have something brilliant to add to a plan?

I have seen many films, and a few of them receive 10 out of 10 points on the scale. This is one of them! 10/10

Excellent film. Great for adults and kids.

[tomalbers · 10/10 · 12 October 2004]

A classic story of redemption, Delivering Milo has great performances, humor, and perhaps a few tears. I watch a lot of films and often tire of Hollywood's penchant for the cynical. If you're looking for a positive message, Delivering Milo delivers.

Aside from the sentimental value it's also an excellent creative concept. It will certainly hold your interest, and it does tug on the heartstrings a bit. But hey, if you're feeling too good about life after this film, just watch the evening news, that'll slap you back to reality.

Excellent display of ingenuity

[filmmakr29 · 8/10 · 20 October 2001]

Delivering Milo is a fantastic journey into the world that humans are unsure evens exists. What would happen if a soul refused to be born? It does get your mind turning. Granted, the plotline that the entire human race will die out is a bit tacky, but the idea is the important factor.

I personally found it wonderfully refreshing in the way the writers(David Hubbard, and Diana Wagman) criss-crossed the different character's plotlines; however, the connections could be easily seen through hints scattered throughout. The characters did seem a little slow on the draw, but what can you do.

I have to disagree with previous comments on the issue of blatantness. The plot turns were, for the most part, unexpected. Albert Finney also fills his roll as a high life gambler well. In all Delivering Milo is a good movie.

One of the best of the genre

[pbasofin · 10/10 · 25 November 2005]

If a movie should be judged against other films of its genre, then this is one of the best. If you like "new agey" fantasy stories along the lines of "What Dreams May Come" and "Somewhere in Times," you really need to see "Milo".

Finney plays the role he was born to play--in fact he's been playing this role all his life. He's the aging rogue, this time with an Archie Bunker New York accent. He's rather over-the-top, but that's a good thing in this context. Briget Fonda's character is also over-the-top, but oddly believable in this very unbelievable fantasy.

Although low-budget, the film is masterfully acted and edited. The music (simple guitar work mostly) is perfect for the sentimentality evoked.

Come on! What do you expect?!

[llennox · 9/10 · 27 December 2005]

What were you expecting with this cast and subject matter? No, it is not academy award material but I thought it was a delightful movie. One of my favorites ever! I will have to see it again and see if the acting really is as terrible as some seem to think. I saw this on a flight and had searched unsuccessfully for a theater playing it or the DVD. I had a friend who was pregnant at the time and thought the movie would be great fun for her. Now, of course her child is in Kingergarden, but I'd still love to see it again. Thanks so much for the detail on why the movie was not released in Sept of 2001. At this point, I love seeing movies with the Twin Towners in it, so even more reason to search it out at the movie store! LL

something missing

[Vincentiu · 17 October 2013]

the idea is nice , Albert Finney does a decent work, Anton Yelchin is adorable, spiritual and touching, Bridget Fonda and Campbell Scott are not bad choices but that is not new discovery. the fundamental problem - something missing. short - the idea is too large for film. so, each effort seems be almost insignificant. and the good parts - no surprise because many of them are details. it is not a bad film and for children can be an interesting experience but the final taste is a mixture of honey and ash. obvious, the good intentions are the base of it and the ambition of team is not small but the cast, the story must have a better led. all seems be colored pieces from a stained glass sketch.

Such a sweet movie

[verkk · 10/10 · 24 August 2022]

I love Albert Finney movies and this one didn't disappoint. And it was fun to watch a young Anton Yelchin. It's a feel good movie. And it's always great to see a Fonda offspring! Bridgette Fonda is a wind treasure. So sad she doesn't make more movies!

It delivers

[vchimpanzee · 26 March 2013]

Albert Finney does an amazing job. He has so much enthusiasm. He is the perfect blue-collar New Yorker who isn't quite perfect but who is everyone's friend.

Anton Yelchin does a good job too. Milo is just naughty enough and just appealing enough, but not overly sweet.

I didn't care much for Bridget Fonda, but she is attractive.

It was disappointing to me to see the woman I knew as Cinderella playing a bimbo. But she does a good enough job.

I didn't understand an early scene with Milo and assumed we were seeing the child's future.

This movie has important lessons to teach us about family and what is really important in life. And while it has a few bad words and acknowledges that some people don't wait until marriage, it is a family movie that older children can watch. At least I think so; I can't recall if it was edited.

This movie delivers!

Synchronicities abound! by Barbara Harris Whitfield

[bw11 · 10/10 · 13 February 2007]

I had a near-death experience (NDE) 30 some years ago. I went on to become a researcher and interviewed more near-death experiencers than I can count. I have four published books on the NDE and natural spirituality -- I wish I had thought up this story myself.

This plot is excellent.

For anyone who has or believes in sychronicities and serendipity -- this movie goes right to the heart. The child actor is wonderful. He doesn't over act but walks around in this heartfelt plot like any child his age would. Albert Finney always gives a good performance and is particularly good here as a scoundrel. There are a panel of angels that add so much comedy in their very straight way. And, Bridget Fonda plays a believable role as the mother to be who is so traumatized by her father's abandonment when she was a child. It all comes together in the end not just cleverly -- but spiritually.

A really lovely film !

[cutetimster · 10/10 · 19 August 2020]

Wow .. I ended up being directed to watch this film because I watched City Of Angels ... This must be one of Albert Finney's most characterful roles .. This film has fun and sadness all rolled up into a tasty treat for the soul . Oh and Bridget Fonda is fantastic and Anton Yelchin showed what a talent he was even as a youngster . So if you haven't watched this film yet then you must ... Tim :)

Better than it might have been

[netwallah · 8/10 · 29 November 2006]

Sometimes the number of possible plot variations seems almost unlimited, and sometimes the plot-hoard seems constrained and restricted to a finite number of basic stories and a set of permutations. When it comes to this movie, however, I'm not sure whether I believe in the big set or the little set. It's half-way between. In some ways the premise is familiar—there's a heaven, of sorts, where children hang out waiting for the appropriate time to be born. It's sort of like a big residential school, all the children wearing neat school uniforms, tended by young people in their late teens or early 20s, in a space that's half neo-classical and half office building and all suffused with golden light. One of the children is Milo (Anton Yelchin), a curly-headed kid adept at card tricks and telling fortunes. He likes it there—wherever "there" is—and so when "Mr. Gordon" pronounces him Ready To Go, he's reluctant. The kids sit calmly in a big room, scooting over in line as each of their friends walks through the Door into the bright light and takes the mother's hand and gets born. A nice, whimsical conceit, that manages to be matter-of-fact and sentimental at the same time. But Milo is apprehensive and refuses to go. This means the next kid can't get born, and the team in the golden-light place are worried. Meanwhile, in New York there's a couple waiting for their first child to be born, Elizabeth (Bridget Fonda) and Kevin (Campbell Scott). They're an interesting pair—he is quiet and handsome and involved in some sort of wildly successful artistic production that involves glass-blowing and a gigantic Manhattan warehouse-studio and a large jovial assistant, and he is kind and sympathetic most of the time and loves Elizabeth and even rides a motorcycle in his spare time. The problem is Elizabeth, who is successful at whatever she does, and is well-dressed and quite lovely, and happy with Kevin, but she has doubts and self-doubts stemming from the fact that her father walked out on her and her mother when she was little. She wants the baby, but she's afraid. And just at the time Milo is waiting in the Door chamber, she's going into labour, and then when he runs out, it stops. And so do all other births everywhere in the world. The attendants, in conference, get a telephone call from Upstairs—a little piece of business: the phones are the chunky old rotary ones, but there are no cords. Somebody is going to take Milo to the world for a day to induce him to agree to getting born. It turns out to be Elmore Dahl (Albert Finney), a crusty, jovial, card-playing, con artist, who wasn't bad enough to go Downstairs but certainly wasn't good enough to go Upstairs. He insists on a deal, that if he succeeds, he gets some more time alive, and "He" agrees. Elmore and Milo take an elevator down to an intake unit, sort of a hotel lobby, also illuminated by the golden light, and out they go onto the streets of New York. What follows is predictable: Elmore takes Milo to his favourite places, the Carnegie Deli, Central Park, the Statue of Liberty, and buys him ice cream and other good foods. Milo is amused, but then he's terrified by a Bosch painting in the Met, and even when they get to Atlantic City—Elmore has gotten himself attached to lush, laughing, eager divorcée Anna (Leslie Ann Warren)—Milo is reluctant. And he's disturbed to learn that Elmore abandoned his family, and he can't miss the signs of selfishness in Elmore's sometimes grotesque jollity. So everything is about to fail--everything--the Door will close, no more babies will ever be born. Elmore gives up and tries to go to bed with Anna. Milo wanders on the boardwalk and runs into a weeping Elizabeth, who's been reminded of her absent father, enjoyed a freakish run of good blackjack luck at home with a pack of Atlantic City cards, and then lost at the blackjack table. Milo is drawn to her and tries to cheer her up, using the same techniques Elmore used on him, and it works. Telling her fortune with a deck of cards, Milo realizes who she is—his mother—and has a change of heart, and at the same time so does Elmore. They almost don't make it back; Milo collapses outside the intake door as Elizabeth goes into labour again and Kevin shows up on his motorcycle to take care of her, and Elmore—his grandfather—has to choose to carry him back, thus ending his brief reincarnation. He grimaces as he does so, noting it's a case of the scammer scammed. Mr. Gordon says "He works in mysterious ways." Milo is born, and suddenly births happen again. Elmore is discharged—upstairs. In some ways the plot line is so predictable that one gets the feeling of déja vu, and yet it's done so cleverly, with a nice touch of dry humour in heaven, and with a gigantic performance by Finney, whose New York accent is pretty good, and who is both lovable and outrageous, and with solid performances by Fonda and Yelchin (the very gifted Campbell Scott is underused here)—with all this working in its favour, the movie is surprisingly good in spite of its potential shortcomings.