Find Movies & TV
Home
Live TV
On Demand
Discover
Explore
Movies & TV Shows
Most Popular
Leaving Soon
Categories
Action
Animation
Comedy
Crime
Documentary
Drama
En Español
Horror
Music
Romance
Sci-Fi
Thriller
Western
Explore
Browse Channels
Featured Channels
Crime 360
Nashville
FailArmy
Categories
Hit TV
Drama TV
Movies
True Crime
News
Sports
Reality
Classics
Sci-Fi & Action
Chills & Thrills
Comedy
Game Shows
Nature & Travel
History & Science
Food & Home
Lifestyle
Kids & Family
En Español
International
Anime+
Music
Sign In
The Black Balloon
Directed by
Elissa Down
PG-13
2008
1h 37m
Drama
,
Romance
7.2
85%
84%
6.4
Add to Watchlist
All Thomas wants is a normal adolescence but his autistic brother, Charlie, thwarts his every opportunity. Will Thomas, with the help of his girlfriend, Jackie, accept his brother?
More
Where to Watch The Black Balloon
There are no locations currently available for this title
Cast of The Black Balloon
Rhys Wakefield
Thomas Mollison
Luke Ford
Charlie Mollison
Toni Collette
Maggie Mollison / Executive Producer
Erik Thomson
Simon Mollison
Gemma Ward
Jackie Masters
Sarah Woods
Woman Next Door
Sam Fraser
Kid Next Door
Zelie Bullen
Mother in Van
Anthony Phelan
Mr. Masters
Deborah Piper
Janet-Social Worker
Henry Nixon
Trevor-Social Worker
Rebecca Massey
Miss Babb
Ryan Clark
Dean
Aaron Glenane
Bucko
Lisa Kowalski
Sally
Nathin Art Butler
Chris
Firass Dirani
Russell
Kate Box
Elizibeth
Elissa Down
Director / Writer
Jimmy Jack
Writer / Co-Producer
The Black Balloon Ratings & Reviews
Washington Post
Michael O'Sullivan
Thomas and Jackie's friendship, blossoming into a chaste romance, is the dramatic engine that powers The Black Balloon, but it's far from the most important relationship in the film.
Boston Phoenix
Alicia Potter
Wakefield anchors the well-paced quieter moments.
San Francisco Chronicle
Walter V. Addiego
The film's vision is neither a grim wallow nor falsely cheerful. It's compassionate but unblinking, and in the end we can't help but admire the genuine strength of how its characters accept their special challenge.
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Graham Killeen
The Black Balloon is marked by the fiercest bravery you're likely to encounter on screen this year.
Chicago Tribune
Michael Phillips
At its sharpest Elissa Down's feature directorial debut is guided by intense, rough-edged emotional swings that feel authentically alive, even when the script settles for tidiness.
Chicago Sun-Times
Roger Ebert
The Black Balloon establishes this family with a delicate mixture of tenderness and pain.
Austin Chronicle
Kimberley Jones
A film that mostly skirts artifice and sentimentality for a truer portrait of a family battered and bruised but nowhere near broken.
Arizona Daily Star
Phil Villarreal
The outlines are broad and obvious, and Thomas such a bore, that The Black Balloon loses air.
Seattle Times
Ted Fry
There are wrenching scenes that are brutally stark, yet there remains a steady sense of calm that is touching and sensitive without ever turning sentimental.
Boston Globe
Ty Burr
Structurally and cinematically, The Black Balloon sticks to the coming-of-age basics, but [director] Down has a gift for conveying time and place.
Oregonian
Stan Hall
It sometimes skirts melodrama territory, but the deep emotions ultimately are real and gratifying. Dependable Toni Collette keeps it grounded, disappearing into her role as the incredibly patient mother.
Movie Retriever
Brian Tallerico
It's a film about a supposedly real-world set-up that never feels true, even though the people who made it clearly set out to treat their subject matter and the audience with respect.
New York Post
Lou Lumenick
This small gem has a very satisfying ending.
Los Angeles Times
Sheri Linden
This unblinking family drama packs a visceral punch. Thomas' journey toward acceptance is blessedly free of noble lessons and filled with real people.
New York Times
Stephen Holden
The blooming puppy love between Thomas and Jackie lends The Black Balloon a welcome strain of tenderness. Mr. Wakefield and Ms. Ward project the innocence of shy, sensitive young people for whom a tentative shared kiss is a very big deal.
Entertainment Weekly
Lisa Schwarzbaum
Toni Collette gives it the old Little Miss Sunshine try in The Black Balloon as an edge-of-kooky, very pregnant mama presiding over a chaotic household.
Slant Magazine
Nick Schager
Elissa Down's semi-autobiographical film always manages to counter its indie clichés with a sober sense of the volatility that comes from living with an autistic individual.
Village Voice
Scott Foundas
This auspicious Oz import is a sign of bright, young filmmaking in Australia.
Variety
Russell Edwards
Collette acts as an anchor for the ensemble, but the young leads credibly hold their own onscreen.
The Hollywood Reporter
Megan Lehmann
Young love triumphs in a terrific Australian indie that deals with autism in an authentic, unsentimental way.
Watch The Black Balloon Videos
The Black Balloon
The Black Balloon
Trailer
Take Plex everywhere
Watch free anytime, anywhere, on almost any device.
See the full list of supported devices
Home
Live TV
On Demand
Discover
