The Boys Are Back

The Boys Are Back is a 2009 drama film directed by Scott Hicks, produced by Greg Brenman and starring Clive Owen. It is based on the 2001 memoir, The Boys Are Back in Town, by Simon Carr. Plot Joe Warr (Clive Owen) is a British sportswriter who lives in Australia with his second wife and horse jockey, Katy (Laura Fraser) and his young son Artie (Nicholas McAnulty). Katy is diagnosed with cancer and dies, forcing Joe to cope with the responsibilities of being a single parent. Joe's teenage son from his first marriage, Harry (George MacKay), feels abandoned in the United Kingdom with his mother. Harry uses Katy's death as an opportunity to try to build a relationship with his father, coming to visit him in Australia. Although Harry is initially unnerved by the lack of discipline in the house, he eventually forms a strong bond with Artie, while struggling to foster a closer relationship with Joe. When Joe is forced by work to leave his sons alone in the house for a night, local teenagers throw a party at the house against both boys' will. With the house ransacked, Harry flies back to England because he no longer feels safe living with Joe. Joe and Artie go after him. After much discussion, Joe convinces Harry to move to Australia on a permanent basis.