Dummy covers the tragic circumstance of two brothers 18 year old Danny (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and 13 year old Jack (Thomas Grant) whose mother dies of an accidental cancer pain killer overdose. However the situation reveals itself only gradually. The movie begins with a Child Protective Services worker allowing Danny custody of Jack providing he can cope so we first learn they've been orphaned as there is no father in their life. How the mother (Terese Bradley) dies emerges when she and the boys are at their holiday cottage. The family appears prosperous living in a beautiful restored Victorian 4 story terraced house on the promenade in Brighton, England and owning a cottage further up the coast. The CPS lady acknowledges that money is not an issue.
Gradually the dysfunctional ways these boys respond to the sudden loss of their mother unfolds beginning with Jack's denial of the mum's death, lying next to her now blueish body for days until Danny summons a doctor who in turn summons hazmat covered workers to take away the body over the emotional protestations of Jack.
As is not unexpected, the teenage boys can't cope and find their own ways to deal with their grief, Danny is an aspiring DJ and descends into a world of heavy drinking, drug taking and casual sexual encounters and Jack becomes the responsible one keeping the house tidy whilst still at school but he keeps a manikin of his mother dressed in her clothes, daubed in her makeup and perfume with whom Jack sleeps each note. A bit ghoulish and creepy but understandable given his very vulnerable age.
They meet Zoey on the beach, she moves in with Danny initially with Jack's encouragement but soon realizes how messed up both boys are and she escapes. The lack of coping comes to a head when Danny tries to leave for a DJing gig in London but Jack sneaks along and must wait in a room at the nightclub, not a good place for boy his age, and he wonders off. Danny frantically searches for him abandoning his post for which he is fired. Jack is falling asleep at school, realizes he's holding Danny back and reaches out online to an unknown person who persuades him to hang himself and Danny just manages to rescue Jack. Jack calls the CPS and says he'll go into foster care because Danny is too young and too messed up to cope. Jack then has to process the truth which is that his mother overdosed on the pain pills and he is so angry he ditches the dummy over a cliff.
The movie traverses all these extraordinarily difficult situations with a high degree of sensitivity and authenticity. The two teenage boy actors are raw, real and superb in their individual uniquely intense roles aided by the fact that they are the same age as their roles - Johnson has gone on to bigger things but it appears Grant did not despite a most convincing performance. Despite the subject matter, this movie is not maudlin or hard to watch and handles the sensitive subject matter well.
Gradually the dysfunctional ways these boys respond to the sudden loss of their mother unfolds beginning with Jack's denial of the mum's death, lying next to her now blueish body for days until Danny summons a doctor who in turn summons hazmat covered workers to take away the body over the emotional protestations of Jack.
As is not unexpected, the teenage boys can't cope and find their own ways to deal with their grief, Danny is an aspiring DJ and descends into a world of heavy drinking, drug taking and casual sexual encounters and Jack becomes the responsible one keeping the house tidy whilst still at school but he keeps a manikin of his mother dressed in her clothes, daubed in her makeup and perfume with whom Jack sleeps each note. A bit ghoulish and creepy but understandable given his very vulnerable age.
They meet Zoey on the beach, she moves in with Danny initially with Jack's encouragement but soon realizes how messed up both boys are and she escapes. The lack of coping comes to a head when Danny tries to leave for a DJing gig in London but Jack sneaks along and must wait in a room at the nightclub, not a good place for boy his age, and he wonders off. Danny frantically searches for him abandoning his post for which he is fired. Jack is falling asleep at school, realizes he's holding Danny back and reaches out online to an unknown person who persuades him to hang himself and Danny just manages to rescue Jack. Jack calls the CPS and says he'll go into foster care because Danny is too young and too messed up to cope. Jack then has to process the truth which is that his mother overdosed on the pain pills and he is so angry he ditches the dummy over a cliff.
The movie traverses all these extraordinarily difficult situations with a high degree of sensitivity and authenticity. The two teenage boy actors are raw, real and superb in their individual uniquely intense roles aided by the fact that they are the same age as their roles - Johnson has gone on to bigger things but it appears Grant did not despite a most convincing performance. Despite the subject matter, this movie is not maudlin or hard to watch and handles the sensitive subject matter well.
