Watch Tom & Thomas

Dutch director Esme Lammers tells the story of Thomas (Aaron Johnson), a young boy who has dreams about someone named Tom (also played by Johnson) who is abused in an orphanage. The dreams are chalked up to Thomas thinking he has an imaginary friend and that the pain he feels when “Tom” is hurt is also imaginary. Thomas lives with his adopted father Paul (Sean Bean), who is coping with the loss of Paul’s wife. They get by, only experiencing small issues and an often messy apartment. Their new neighbor, Celia (Inday Ba), and Thomas share a connection, with a mutual love of space and piloting. Throughout the film, you see Celia (through her friendship with Thomas) and Paul develop an attraction for each other and, soon enough, a budding romance. Tom, on the other hand, does live in an institutional like orphanage that is really a front for human trafficking. One day he escapes, determined to live on the streets in London. The villainous Finch (Bill Stewart) and Headmaster Bancroft (Derek de Lint) are furious when they discover that their charge has escaped and set about returning him to the institution. When Thomas and Tom meet at the Space Museum they realize that the connection between the two of them (who are identical) runs deep. The two instantly bond as brothers and even horse around with the usual twin switches. Then, when Finch and Bancroft believe they have found Tom, they take him, not realizing that they have inadvertently abducted Thomas. Knowing that he may never see his long lost brother again, Tom understands that he must become the hero. He decides that he will do whatever it takes, at whatever risk, to save Thomas and to save their family.