We Bought A Zoo hits the cinemas today - and if you're up for a thoughtful night at the movies, then this should be top of your list. The film is based on a real life story, which happened here in England - Dartmoor to be exact. Although the film setting is America. But it's the fact that this is adapted from a real story that will really choke you up - it's something really quite special.
At the preview screening, I had the honour of speaking to the man behind the real story... all I can say is, he is a truly inspirational man - and this is his life tale, with a bit of help from Hollywood.
The plot:
Benjamin Mee (Matt Damon) is a British Journalist who lost his wife six months back. Since then he's struggled to maintain a normal life with his teenage son Dylan (Colin Ford) and seven-year-old daughter Rosie (Maggie Elizabeth Jones).
When Dylan gets expelled from school, Benjamin is forced to reassess his life - and he realises he needs to start again away from the area that so much reminds him of his beautiful wife. So the family go house-hunting. Dylan's not on side but little Rosie is - and after a day of failures, they find a stunning place in the middle of acres of land. They instantly fall in love with it, until the estate agent informs them that the house comes with a zoo.
Instead of dropping it like a hot potato, Benjamin decides to go ahead with his purchase and despite Dylan's reservations they move in with the plan of turning the zoo around for a summer opening. But the last owner had left them with an awful place to work - and without a complete restoration, the remaining animals (which include a lion, tigers, grizzly bears and wolves) would have to be put down.
The challenge is set. But with everyone against them (friends refuse to visit and Benjamin's older brother Duncan (Thomas Haden Church) is convinced it's a terrible idea, Benjamin realises he's on his own. Then he meets his fantastic new team with Kelly Foster (Scarlett Johansson) as his head Zoo Keeper - and he realises he might just be able to pull of this near-impossible and very expensive task.
Verdict:
In a cinema packed with hard-nose journalists, there were a surprising number of sniffles to be heard. Even Bill Odie - who was in the audience - told us after that he had to shed a few tears. All I will say is bring tissues - you will need them.
The animals are brilliant and little Maggie Elizabeth Jones is a delightful young actress to watch.
The fact that director Cameron Crowe has managed to capture so much of the real emotion of this story, is quite special. And the real Benjamin Mee said himself he is astounded at how well they have turned his life into a sparkling movie masterpiece. Actually, he was even more astounded to see Matt Damon playing him on the big screen!
So it seems sometimes Hollywood gets it right. And this is one of those times.
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We Bought A Zoo is out in cinemas now.
