It seems like the little boy in the story was trying to do a British accent, but he kept slipping out of it; in fact, most of the time he sounded American or Canadian.
Also, I couldn't figure out why Simon McCorkindale's brother didn't have a British accent, too....?
I realize this film isn't exactly Citizen Kane, but the accents (or lack thereof) were really distracting!
...and nobody beats The Riz!
No one really had a British accent except for the father. And the housekeeper said he went to school in England "before coming back..."
Though, I thought Patsy Kensit kept slipping into her British accent when her character didn't have one.
To me, it sounded like the kid was trying to speak overly properly rather than with a British accent. But you were right, it was obviously not the way the kid/actor naturally spoke and it was distracting.
"Professionals built the Titanic. Amateurs built the Ark."
Helen Hannah