a wonderful little movie that is really interested in its characters and in its theme . 
the scene of " second best " is laid in wales . 
james ( chris cleary miles ) is a 10-year-old boy who must live in a home because his father ( keith allen ) is in prison and his mother committed suicide . 
james is a mentally unbalanced child . 
he can't forget what happened in the past , and he dreams of living a happy life with his beloved father . 
in the home he feels sadly and lonely . 
one day , a social worker ( alan cumming ) tells him of a person who wants to adopt him . 
this person is graham holt ( william hurt ) . 
graham manages a post office and shop in a village . 
he is a single and hasn't any real friends . 
his mother is dead , and his father is ill and will die . 
graham feels that he has been a disappointment to his parents . 
there has never been real love between his parents and him . 
graham's monotonous life would get a new sense if he could adopt james . 
but graham has not only to convince the institutions , but must also win the love of james . 
james and graham have to open theirselves . 
they must get to know each other and learn to understand and trust the other person . 
james and graham aid each other to cope with their problems . 
but will their relationship really have a future ? 
 " second best " is based on a novel by david cook who also wrote the screenplay . 
the film was directed by chris menges who had made his directing debut with the very good anti-apartheid drama " a world apart " ( 1987/88 ) . 
and maybe , " second best " is even a greater picture . 
this precise , richly detailed , sensitively and convincingly directed study about a special adoption treats its theme with great seriousness . 
the breathtakingly intense film shows the necessity of human contact and communication . 
william hurt delivers an outstanding performance as graham holt . 
and chris cleary miles is remarkably convincing in the role of the boy . 
the supporting cast is also fine ( especially jane horrocks as debbie , a social worker who is charged to examine graham's living circumstances ) . 
 " second best " is an underestimated masterpiece . 
it's a pity that films like this one are made so seldom . 
i eagerly await menges' next directorial work , " the lost son " , which will star daniel auteuil .