December Boys

December Boys follows four orphaned boys growing up in an Australian outback convent. Born in the same month, they have come to think of themselves as a family of their own, even as younger children are adopted and their own prospects fade. When the Reverend Mother arranges a seaside holiday for them, they meet Teresa and Fearless, a young couple who seem like ideal parents. The possibility that only one of them might be chosen turns the friends into rivals, testing the bond that has held them together. During the trip, one of the boys, Maps, becomes involved with Lucy, a girl vacationing nearby with her uncle.

The film was directed by Rod Hardy, released in 2007, and sits third in his filmography after Robinson Crusoe and Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. Marc Rosenberg wrote the screenplay, and Jay Sanders and Richard Becker produced. The cast is led by Daniel Radcliffe as Maps, with Lee Cormie, Christian Byers and James Fraser as the other boys, alongside Jack Thompson and Teresa Palmer. Made for about 4 million dollars, it returned roughly 1 million worldwide. On IMDb it holds a critics' rating of 5/10 from 70 reviews, while on TMDB it has 6/10 from 216 votes, a modest but slightly warmer audience response.