"All literature is consolation-written by losers" (The History Boys (DVD))

Member Name: thedevilinme

Product:	The History Boys (DVD)
Date:	27/12/07 (76 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good bits

Disadvantages: Over the top bits

The chance of a northern comprehensive six former getting into Oxbridge when Alan Bennet wrote
his iconic stage play was about 16-1. Today, where one in three kids are going on to higher education, that ratio has actually risen to 20-1. If you're working class and living in a tower block it rises to 100-1. Nothing, it seems, has changed in class ridden Britain, especially now students have to pay for university ( the parents that is) and so why this movie is just as relevant today as it ever was.

Although Bennett's classic uses the central premise of grammar school kids trying to get on and into the private upper class finishing school that is Oxbridge, The History Boys is really just a disguised biopic by the play write confronting his own homosexual right-of passage through the liberation of that elite hotbed of it called public school; some say the cast and writers real message from films like American Beauty that irrationally-to the context of the film- explore that sexuality. Most writers subtly write about themselves in their work and as Bennet was educated in a private school he can't really have a great take on the struggles of Darren and Jase trying to get into Oxbridge from the state system, which is why this isn't exactly what you expect it to be when you see this iconic play.

The cast are the same guys that had been doing a two year run of the stage version at the National Theatre right up until the movie shoot, so inevitably delivered a stage play style performance, each actor 'projecting' his lines in that irritating and pretentious theatre way, not allowed to over-lap prose. I know of no 1980s six form tutorial groups that have a piano in the class and the boys enjoying practicing French musical comedy in general studies, the boys unrealistically smart and knowing, pretentious and mature, quoting James Joyce and Shakespeare in every other line. Christ, if you did that at my state school in the day you would have got the piano cover slammed down on your head. This is very much another Alan Bennet working class fantasy of how he sees that life he never touched.
Although this knowing pungent delivery style does ware down the viewer, it just about gets away with it as there are some quite profound moments from Bennets writing and quotation in the substance that makes this an intelligent movie worth a look, and as its on TV this week (BBC2 9pm next Friday) you wont have to pay the rental to find out..

-The Ingredients-

Samuel Anderson ... Crowther
James Corden ... Timms
Stephen Campbell Moore ... Irwin
Richard Griffiths ... Hector
Frances de la Tour ... Mrs. Lintott
Andrew Knott ... Lockwood
Russell Tovey ... Rudge
Jamie Parker ... Scripps
Dominic Cooper ... Dakin
Samuel Barnett ... Posner
Sacha Dhawan ... Akhtar
Clive Merrison ... The Headmaster
Penelope Wilton ... Mrs. Bibby
Adrian Scarborough ... Wilkes
Georgia Taylor ... Fiona

-The Method-

The proud and ever so slightly cliché and caricatured headmaster of a Sheffield Grammar (Clive Merrison) has organized his elite six formers extra tutorage in the new term after some excellent A-Levels results. He reckons the history class has potential and so boldly attempts to see if he can get some or all into Oxbridge, not the done thing in these parts.
The kid's in question are all students of Mrs. Lintott (Frances de la Tour), an old fashioned bird that prefers just to tech the boy's facts, for it is facts that Oxbridge are interested in. But its chubby and camp General Studies teacher Mr. Hector (Richard Griffiths) who really knows what the top universities are looking for, stimulating the boys sensitive and creative side (as well as their nuts when he gives them a lift home on his moped) to make them more rounded individuals. But the boys are his intellectual equal and tolerate his outrageous behavior as they know that's the only way Hector can function, much to the anger of the headmaster.

So enter specialist teacher Mr. Irwin, a fresh faced specialist at coaching boys to pass the divisive Oxbridge entrance exam. The obnoxious class of eight is soon on his case, as they would any new teacher, probing his weakness, suspecting that he too is a 'confirmed bachelor who likes musical theater'. This growing and abnormal homosexual undertone in the film (for a grimey Sheffield state school) continues in the sensitive form of the classes most delicate and confused student in Prosner (Samuel Barnett), who has a crush on the groups alpha male student in Dakin (Dominic Cooper), a boy mature and arrogant beyond his 18 years, proving his superiority by sleeping with the Heads sexy school secretary (Georgia Taylor). He is the leader of the gang and doesn't reciprocate Prosners attentive glances, instead spending his days trying to resolve Mr. Irwin's sexuality. But with all this sexual tension going on will the boys actually find time to work hard and figure out how to get into Oxbridge, if that what this film is really about...

-Conclusion-

I think the biggest mistake you can make with the film of the stage play is to put the stage play on the film, which was director Nick Hytners gamble here. He should have watched Mammets Glengarry Glen Ross to see how it's done. Now that's a movie of a play! Yes the film works to some extent but the cast just stomp on to the set and don't really adapt their stage presence... Bennett's screenplay not really softened for the wide open spaces of the big screen.

Weaving in comment on modern political correctness and exploring the others teacher's pangs of regret not trying for Oxbridge you find yourself warming to the adults in the piece as that's where your sympathies lie in the act of teaching these ghastly and over the top kids, who incidentally look the actors' age range of 21-30 on screen to the films detriment, again dissolving realism. In fact there's some of that Paul Whitehouse, 'oooww, suits you sir', about the ghastly brats.

It's a slow boiler too, the viewer having to build up to liking the style of the film. But once you get going its all very fine and the occasional profound and inspiring moment of quoted literature has you gasping, none more so than when a tearful Hectors explains what learning is really about and how their subject of history is the finest knowledge of all. Although if you have the old BBC black and white tape of the original I would probably watch that instead over the holidays as it is the superior version for me. But don't forget! Friday night at 9pm...


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-IMDB Rating-

6.8/10 (5,321 votes)

-Awards-

Two BAFTA nominations for Frances De la tour and screenplay for Alan Bennet...

= = = SPECIAL FEATURES = = =

Audio Commentary by director Nick Hytner and writer Alan Bennet.

I listened to about a half-hour of it but it resolved into a conversation and reminisces of the school days of the two wafflers.

'History Boys Around the World: Tour Diary

A hand held digi camera diary from the boys exposes their real ages and genuine enjoyment of touring the world to plug their movie, Richard Griffiths looking particularly naughty when he wanders of in Bangkok.

'Pass It On: History Boys on Screen'.

A gentle making of as we go behind the scenes of the set, mostly in and around a Watford girls school, the actors and writers showing how tight they are as a team after their successful stage run.

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RuN-TiMe 101 minutes
Suitable for young adults and up.

Summary: The film of the play of the TV....