Joe (Clive Owen) is the widowed dad of an eight-year-old boy (Nicholas McAnulty). Joe’s wife just died of cancer. And so you think this is Owen’s first attempt at a sappy, tear jerker instead of his usual bad-boy, sexy roles. Think again. In this, there’s no time for all of that Kleenex clutching though he’s still got those killer bedroom blue eyes. Joe is instead discovering the pain and loneliness of single parenting let alone how consuming a day can be. He’s juggling a job as a sports journalist, the emotions of an angry mother-in-law (Alexandra Schepisi), a fed-up boss, a could-be girlfriend (Emma Booth) and yet another son (George MacKay) who lives in London who Joe hasn’t seen in over ten years. But at the end of the day, there’s little left for Joe’s exhausted character (except for piles of laundry) wishing he had “somebody to do nothing with.” Owen shows a wide range of emotion, alot of resiliency, and tender comedy in this role. Under the direction of Scott “Shine” Hicks Owen gives an overall Oscar-worthy performance. In many ways the film is reminiscent of the 1970s “Kramer vs Kramer” with Dustin Hoffman as the single dad trying to figure out how to raise a child. Except this is far more sophisticated and complicated a plot. The movie moves along beautifully, the script is flawless, and the down-under scenery is Planet Earth spectacular. Three and a half tiaras