feeldb

About a Boy

2002 · 101 min · Director: Chris Weitz, Paul Weitz ★ IMDb 7.1 · 200,233 ratings

Show plot summary (may contain spoilers)

Twelve year old Marcus Brewer lives with his chronically depressed single mother, Fiona Brewer. Both Fiona and Marcus beat to their own respective drummers. Marcus will do whatever he can to make his depressed mother happy, even if it causes himself grief. As such, he realizes that he is perceived as different than most kids, as even the self-professed weird kids don't want to hang out with him as he is the target of bullying. Part of the taunts against him are the fact that he sings and speaks to himself without even realizing that he is doing it. Meanwhile, thirty-eight year old Will Freeman is a slacker who has lived comfortably off the royalties of a song written by his deceased father, and as such has never had to work a day in his life. He is a solitary man who places himself as the first and only priority in life. He comes across the idea that dating single moms meets his selfish carnal needs. It is in this capacity that Will meets Marcus, as one of Will's single mother conquests, Suzie, is friends with the Brewers. Trying to escape his life but wanting Will to date Fiona, Marcus infiltrates Will's life, much to Will's chagrin. Will slowly begins to realize that Marcus is more than just a nuisance, but rather someone who needs some guidance navigating through the trials of adolescence and the trials of dealing with a suicidal mother, and perhaps he can be a small part of providing that direction. Conversely, Marcus may be able to show Will the path to becoming a real adult.

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Emotional fingerprint

About a Boy (2002) — Movie. Top emotional signals: Humor 30%, Empathy 25%, Joy 20%. Source: AI estimate. Shares describe emotional signal, not percentages of people. Your experience may differ. How we measure

30%Humor
20%Joy
  1. Humor30%
  2. Joy20%
  3. Hope10%

AI estimate · no viewer votes yet

How we measure

AI estimate

Share of emotional signal, not the percentage of people or a probability of enjoyment.

Each viewer contributes one response, split equally across their selected emotions. When available, an automated estimate supplies a prior that is blended with those responses. Counts include distinct viewers, not automated estimates or archived anonymous votes. Fewer than 3 viewers is an early estimate; more responses do not guarantee certainty.

Why it feels this way

The strongest emotional signals are Humor, Empathy, Joy. Genres: Comedy, Drama, Romance. AI estimate.

Is it worth watching?

Consider this title if you are looking for Humor, Empathy and Joy. Its IMDb rating of 7.1/10 suggests a generally positive audience reception. For these leading emotions, its Feel Score is 72/100.

How did it make you feel?

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Emotional journey

AI · from subtitles
  • Empathy
  • Sadness
  • Tension

Not enough subtitle evidence

No dominant emotion

Dominant emotion: Humor

Dominant emotion: Sadness

Dominant emotion: Tension

Dominant emotion: Empathy

Dominant emotion: Hope

Empathy
Sadness
Tension
Emotional journey Emotional intensity over the film’s runtime, from quieter to stronger on a fixed 0–1 scale. Hatched intervals have insufficient subtitle evidence. The table provides the values.
Ending hidden

Dominant emotion

Intensity dips around 3 %, then peaks around 83 %, then dips around 98 %.Ending hidden

Emotional journey
%Approximate minuteDominant emotionOverall intensityEmpathySadnessTension
2.5 %≈ 3′Humor42 %17 %15 %8 %
7.5 %≈ 8′Humor45 %25 %21 %14 %
12.5 %≈ 13′Sadness48 %31 %26 %18 %
17.5 %≈ 18′Humor51 %31 %26 %26 %
22.5 %≈ 23′Tension60 %45 %40 %43 %
27.5 %≈ 28′Sadness60 %54 %48 %40 %
32.5 %≈ 33′Humor49 %43 %34 %25 %
37.5 %≈ 38′Humor45 %39 %28 %26 %
42.5 %≈ 43′Empathy51 %48 %34 %36 %
47.5 %≈ 48′Empathy54 %50 %34 %39 %
52.5 %≈ 53′Humor51 %43 %23 %31 %
57.5 %≈ 58′Hope50 %35 %11 %21 %
62.5 %≈ 63′Humor49 %32 %10 %24 %
67.5 %≈ 68′Tension51 %40 %28 %35 %
72.5 %≈ 73′Sadness63 %56 %54 %43 %
77.5 %≈ 78′Sadness71 %64 %55 %51 %
82.5 %≈ 83′Tension74 %63 %38 %64 %
87.5 %≈ 88′Tension74 %64 %29 %63 %
92.5 %≈ 93′Hope64 %55 %20 %36 %
97.5 %≈ 98′Hope52 %40 %10 %12 %
Man in a hole

Rags to riches: The emotional tone rises from negative to positive.

Riches to rags: The emotional tone falls from positive to negative.

Man in a hole: The tone falls, then recovers.

Icarus: The tone rises, then falls.

Cinderella: The tone rises, falls, then rises again.

Oedipus: The tone falls, rises, then falls again.

AI reading of the film’s English subtitles (dialogue and sound cues) — not viewer votes. How we measure ↗

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Viewer responses about feelings after the title ended, separate from feelings while watching. No AI estimates.

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Cast

Rachel Weisz

Rachel

SS
Sharon Small

Christine

MC
Madison Cook

Imogen

JC
Jordan Cook

Imogen

NH
Nicholas Hutchison

John

RS
Ryan Speechley

Barney

JS
Joseph Speechley

Barney

DS
Denise Stephenson

Lindsey

CW
Chris Webster

Ellie's Friend

IB
Isabel Brook

Angie

OT
Orlando Thor Newman

Louie, Angie's Kid

PP
Paulette P. Williams

Bitter Ex-Girlfriend

SD
Susannah Doyle

Bitter Ex-Girlfriend

FG
Fritha Goodey

Bitter Ex-Girlfriend

Details

Directed by
Chris Weitz, Paul Weitz
Type
Movies
Released
2002
Runtime
101 min
Country
United Kingdom, France, United States
Ratings
★ IMDb 7.1 · 200,233 ratings
Feels mostly
Humor
Data updated

Where to watch

Data: JustWatch · Wikidata

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Emotion overlap shows mood similarity, not a prediction of enjoyment.