Film: We Bought a Zoo (PG)

Director: Cameron Crowe

Cameron Crowe is being hailed as returning to the form that won him his respected reputation with this heartwarming story of family loss and gentle recovery. He knows people and their details, as previously demonstrated in Almost Famous, Jerry Maguire and Say Anything, and this true tale relocated from England to California promises to be engaging and touching without a need to rush for the hankies or the sappiness police.

Starring Matt Damon as Benjamin Mee, a recently widowered father of two, he decides to pack in his job and pack up his family to the countryside to give them all time to recover from their shared loss. Clashing with his teenage son Dylan and trying to help his seven-year-old daughter Rosie, Benjamin’s idea to help them bond an’ that is to have them living in a dilapidated zoo truly on its last legs. The idea is to get them back in the saddle as a business and a family, with the aid of the animals and the assorted zoo staff – not least being the delightful Scarlett Johansson. A sweet and engaging flick for all the family.

Also starring Elle Fanning and Thomas Haden Church.
Released Friday 16 March
Showing at Odeon and Cineworld