Too much history... not enough about the boys! (The History Boys (DVD))

Member Name: GoFigure

Product:	The History Boys (DVD)
Date:	02/02/09 (21 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Witty and fast-paced dialogue.

Disadvantages: The movie tends to drag.

Directed by Nicholas Hytner
Play/Screenplay by Alan Bennett
Comedy / Drama
Released 13th October, 2006 (UK)

MAIN CAST:

Samuel Anderson as Crowther
James Corden as Timms
Stephen Campbell Moore as Irwin
Richard Griffiths as Hector
Andrew Knott as Lockwood
Russell Tovey as Rudge
Jamie Parker as Scripps
Dominic Cooper as Dakin
Samuel Barnett as Posner


SUMMARY:

Having managed excellent results in their A levels, and possessing what it takes to make it into the prestigious schools of Oxford and Cambridge in 1980's England, a group of history pupils attending a grammar school in Sheffield are told that in order to prepare for their entry exams into these two prestigious schools, they must attend classes for one term. This term will be filled with last-minute titbits of information, and extensive cramming.

In order to assure that his pupils will make it into these schools, the headmaster hires an Oxford graduate teacher, Irwin, in order to tutor the boys and polish up their rough edges. Irwin's tutoring is based on challenging the boys' intellect by demanding that they produce work that is not based on obvious historical facts, but on the underlying ins-and-outs that lurk just beneath the surface of historical events. He wants essays that are lively, novel and interesting. Hector is their eccentric English teacher, who also dabbles in French, drama and music.

As the term progresses, caught between two very different types of teachers, the boys will learn about life, sexuality and love... and what it takes to make it in the world. They will learn that you either know what you're talking about, or you lie and act your way through it!

COMMENTS:

Hector is a likeable character, a tad eccentric, but extremely knowledgeable and flexible in his teaching skills. He can go from poetry to French in the beat of an eyelash, and is endearing in his eccentricities... up to a certain point. Hector loves to give the boys lifts on his motorcycle after class, however, although the boys do joke about it, they aren't too keen on the notion... because Hector loves to grope their private parts during these rides. This character is highly affable, however, his liking for young boys/men is distressing because his sexual inclination tends to border on the paedophiliac side as opposed to the homosexual side. This glitch causes a moral dilemma within the viewer, and it becomes extremely difficult, as the movie progresses, to sympathize or to even like this character. Griffiths has worked this character well enough, portraying him as the director and the writer had no doubt intended, however, a little more depth would have gone a long way into making this movie far more emotionally profound and disturbing. Hector never truly shows any guilt or shame over his actions, preferring to downplay what others consider to be shocking behaviour... and this is what causes the viewers to distance themselves from this character, therefore, when Hector's fate is played out at the end of the movie, the viewer can no longer feel any true sympathy or sadness for him.

Irwin is very much the Hugh Grant of this movie... clever, dashing, a tad arrogant, and extremely pleasant and charming. Moore's acting skills are never lacking within the time-frame of this movie, and his portrayal of Irwin is solid and unwavering. Although at first glimpse Irwin's character seems to be straightforward and a tad boring, he is a man with depth. Firstly, Irwin is not truly the self-confidant and arrogantly clever academic he portrays himself to be... he is not cool, calm and collected. Deep down, Irwin is insecure, his academic accomplishments are a sham, and his sexuality is still a mystery to him. Stephen Campbell Moore's acting skills are flawless in this movie.

The boys (as a whole), were brilliantly portrayed by their respective actors, however, there is always that underlying feeling that it isn't truly acting at all on the part of the actors. Perhaps it is brilliant acting, after all, they are all so extremely convincing, however, the impression is that these boys are playing themselves. I won't go into a lengthy description of what each boy's role is as this would take forever, however, I will stress that... acting or not... they are the heart and soul of this movie.

This movie is like a Picasso... you either hate it or you love it. Personally, a Picasso painting is artwork under the influence of some serious drugs! However, others will think it brilliant. My preference is for artists such as Turner and Constable whose realistic artwork was inspired by the beautiful English countryside... or by Lowry, whose paintings, although childish, are the epitome of naiveté and simplicity. This said, THE HISTORY BOYS started out like a Lowry and ended up looking like a Picasso.

For the first 20 minutes, the wittiness of the dialogue hooks you and reels you in, then, far too quickly, the constant hyping on history makes you almost comatose... until finally, you're left in a deep coma and can't come out of it until the credits roll up onto the screen. At first, I thought I was in for a thrill, a great movie experience... however, although I am a history buff, the lessons started to take up too much time and I felt cheated. True, the title does state that it IS the HISTORY BOYS, and you should expect a certain amount of historical facts to be flung your way... but there is such a thing as too much! I felt cheated and disappointed because this movie appeared so tremendously promising with the complicated depths of its characters... but at some point the director and writer totally lost the plot, and the dialogue simply turns into mindless rapid-fire babbling. I would have liked to see the story focused on the boys and their lives, not on how to write an essay or cheat your way into Oxford and Cambridge... such a shame.

Summary: A group of history pupils attend extra classes in order to prepare themselves for their exams.