The Reel Review
A Northern Ireland window washer named John, a single father with only months to live, searches for the perfect family to raise his four-year-old son when he dies as well as the perfect time and way to tell his young son what is happening so as not to traumatize him. James Norton stars in this tender drama based on a true story.
Writer/director Uberto Pasolini (The Return, Still Life) uses a poignant score, vignettes and quiet moments to show the bond between this caring and attentive father and his young son. Throughout the narrative, we learn than John himself was orphaned at the age of four, growing up in foster homes his entire childhood. Despite this ironic gut punch, Pasolini’s carefully edited story never feels emotionally-manipulative, which gives it even more emotional heft. The chemistry between Norton and newcomer Daniel Lamont is phenomenally realistic.
The excellent supporting cast includes Carol Moore (Five Minutes of Heaven, The Belfast Thing) as Deidre, John’s elderly neighbor/friend, Eileen O’Higgins (Brooklyn, Mary Queen of Scots) as the empathetic adoption agency worker and Siobhan McSweeney (Derry Girls) as one of the potential new adoptive parents. Subtle but revealing clues give John the insight as to whether each family he meets would fit with his son. The memory box scene, with John adding photos and writing letters to his son to be read at important milestones in the boy’s future, is a real tearjerker, building up to the finale, when we are relieved (but not really surprised) to find out who John has decided will take young Michael.
REEL FACTS
• Prior to and during filming, James Norton would often visit Belfast and spend time playing with toys with Daniel Lamont to help forge the onscreen chemistry between the two. Norton says working with Lamont has been a highlight of his career.
• Director Uberto Pasolini wrote Nowhere Special after reading a newspaper article about a terminally ill single father in Northern Ireland searching for a family for his young son. He still has a copy of the article but has kept their identities secret.
• Eileen O’Higgins is the best friend of Irish actress Saoirse Ronan, appearing in two films together (Brooklyn, Mary Queen of Scots).
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