History Boys (B- or 2.5/4 stars)
'The History Boys' is a stage-to-screen adaptation directed by Nicholas Hytner. Setting, 1980's England: Right before high school graduation, the lives of several young British boys go haywire when a new teacher comes to their class to prepare them for pre-university history tests. Their elder teacher, Hector (Richard Griffiths), wants them to 'love' literature. Irwin (the new teacher) is younger, straight-to-the-point, and just wants them to pass & attain greatness from colleges like Oxford & Cambridge. Wordy intellectualism + an odd homosexual subplot is what this film is all about. This last sentence epitomizes my rating of this film.
These boys are ripe for the picking at some high profile schools. But one day, the mood around class changes when the headmaster discovers that Hector (as scholarly, respected, & revered as he is) has been involved in some reciprocal fondling of male students. The aforementioned odd part, no one seems to take it as seriously as expected. In fact, all the boys are Hector's allies here. All of the boys have some homosexual tendencies. What started as a standard Dead Poets Society-esque film turns on a dime. Some of the students have crushes on each other. One likes Irwin, the new teacher. And Irwin seems to be suppressing some longings, himself! I mean, the movie is good. I assume the play is much better. But this plot is just downright bizarre; who thought this up?
What do I like about 'The History Boys'? The acting is stellar throughout (including Harry Potter's Frances De La Tour as Mrs. Lintott). The landscapes are pretty (when is England not cinematically pretty?) It's very wordy, very verbal. The dialogue stimulates your mind & forces you to pay attention. Because it's so chatty, if you don't pay attention to the dialogue, you'll be forever lost. This is a warning to the casual, passive viewer. And the English literature & the English language within this film is what it's primarily about. You also get a good feel for what it may have been like to grow up in the 80's British countryside.
What didn't I like? The film is very self-contained. It verges on being boring & listless at times. The dialogue has energy, but it is so wordy that it can actually lull you to sleep if you're not conscientious in your viewing. What of the homosexual tinge? It's treated very normally and nonchalantly here (not that it shouldn't be). But within a school setting, between minors & piggish professors, you'd think ther'd be 'some' moral caution; and there really isn't. Plus, when the climax arrives (whose going to which college, or who got in, at all), do we really care? I really didn't. Then again, I think the point of the movie wasn't where or if they got into college. To me, it was the process of the later stages of their schooling & their individual self-realizations. Good film, but weird.
These boys are ripe for the picking at some high profile schools. But one day, the mood around class changes when the headmaster discovers that Hector (as scholarly, respected, & revered as he is) has been involved in some reciprocal fondling of male students. The aforementioned odd part, no one seems to take it as seriously as expected. In fact, all the boys are Hector's allies here. All of the boys have some homosexual tendencies. What started as a standard Dead Poets Society-esque film turns on a dime. Some of the students have crushes on each other. One likes Irwin, the new teacher. And Irwin seems to be suppressing some longings, himself! I mean, the movie is good. I assume the play is much better. But this plot is just downright bizarre; who thought this up?
What do I like about 'The History Boys'? The acting is stellar throughout (including Harry Potter's Frances De La Tour as Mrs. Lintott). The landscapes are pretty (when is England not cinematically pretty?) It's very wordy, very verbal. The dialogue stimulates your mind & forces you to pay attention. Because it's so chatty, if you don't pay attention to the dialogue, you'll be forever lost. This is a warning to the casual, passive viewer. And the English literature & the English language within this film is what it's primarily about. You also get a good feel for what it may have been like to grow up in the 80's British countryside.
What didn't I like? The film is very self-contained. It verges on being boring & listless at times. The dialogue has energy, but it is so wordy that it can actually lull you to sleep if you're not conscientious in your viewing. What of the homosexual tinge? It's treated very normally and nonchalantly here (not that it shouldn't be). But within a school setting, between minors & piggish professors, you'd think ther'd be 'some' moral caution; and there really isn't. Plus, when the climax arrives (whose going to which college, or who got in, at all), do we really care? I really didn't. Then again, I think the point of the movie wasn't where or if they got into college. To me, it was the process of the later stages of their schooling & their individual self-realizations. Good film, but weird.