The Magnet review

The Magnet is quite a strange film, and I'm pretty sure it would never be made now. It's about a fairly horrible little boy who tricks a much smaller boy into giving him a big magnet in exchange for an "invisible" watch. Then, through a series of bizarre incidents, he comes to believe that the smaller boy has died and that the police are chasing him in order to arrest him for murder.

It's all very silly, and the main boy's parents are brilliant. The best sequences involve the father, who is a psychologist and completely misinterprets what's wrong with his son (not that he could be expected to guess the truth).

Best quote comes from the mother, after the father has explained his theory of the psychological conflict that he believe is causing the boy's strange behaviour. She says something like, "It must be so hard for other parents to deal with these kinds of problems, when they have no idea what's truly behind it." She then goes on to put into practice her husband's plan to solve the problem, not realising that the real cause is something comletely different.

I think it's the weakest of the Ealing comedies we've watched, but still fun, and with some lovely moments here and there.