Unfortunately it skips over these issues rather than providing any insight or original thought. Thematically it is very similar to Neil Jordans 'The Butcher Boy'or 'Angelas Ashes', it contains a examination of the Catholic Church, Alcoholism, Old Age, Domestic Violence and most importantly growing up. Ivan Beavis as Jimmys old companion Bloody Jack, who Jimmy eventually turns on alsohas credibility. Jamie Higgins is outstanding as Jimmy Sullivan who plays the part with a lot of credibility in what would have been a difficult role.

However despite thes drawbacks the movies has many positives. His novel, The God Boy (1957) is considered a masterpiece and in 1999, was adapted by Cross for the stage. Much of the acting especially in the minor roles is rather hammy. Ian Cross is one of New Zealand's best known novelists. This means it suffers from poor sound quality, and a lack of variety in camera angles. It is almost completely filmed on location and a lot outdoors. Unfortunately being a pioneering film it is more than a little dated now. 166 pages.Released back in 1976 this was a landmark New Zealand film, being the first one to be shown on British TV. His years with the country's single television channel, his misadventures as Chairman of Broadcasting trying to save television from becoming hopelessly dysfunctional and, in 1981, facing demands to ban its coverage of rugby during the Springbok tour. Ian Cross takes considerable pains never to challenge the illusion that The God Boy is Jimmy Sullivans book as monologue, written out somehow while spoken by. His dogged pursuit of funding to recompense authors for the library use of their work over twenty-four years the returns have amounted to twenty-two million dollars. His innovation as editor of the Listener. How a journalistic fellowship at Harvard University could turn his life upside down and have him write THE GOD BOY, a novel that has been in print for fifty years and was recently published again by Penguin, this time in its Classics series as 'a masterpiece'. Journalist, author, and broadcaster Ian Cross has made many splashes in New Zealand's small pond and in this rich and rewarding memoir he reveals much of his life that would easily elude any would-be biographer: The bizarre troubles he and another young journalist fell into in Panama under the direction of an older New Zealander who turned out to have been a British intelligence agent and his implication in gun-running.

The God Boy by Ian Cross