The History Boys
Director: Nicholas Hynter
Cast: Richard Griffiths, Frances de la Tour, Stephen Campbell Moore
School days are supposed to be the best days of our lives, the vital formative years that set up us for our future as members of society, functional or otherwise. Are we being manipulated into believing everything we are told without ever really questioning, by being taught what to think and not how to think for ourselves? Very likely. If you have your own ideas, the chances are you will fail your exams, if you your fail your exams you won't be able to go to university where you become so in debt you have to become a wage slave for the rest of your life. Alan Bennett obviously had some concerns about the education system when he wrote his play, The History Boys, and a lot of people must have been interested in what he had to say about it because it was a huge theatrical hit on both sides of the Atlantic. His ideas can now reach an even wider audience with the release of the film version, which is the second collaboration between Bennett and director Nicholas Hynter, the first was The Madness of King George.
The History Boys is set in Cutler's Grammar School, in the north of England, during the mid 1980s. It focuses on eight boys who are pursuing undergraduate places in Oxford and Cambridge, as they are pushed to succeed by the school's over-zealous headmaster (Clive Merrison). In order for his school to rise up the ranks he enlists Irwin (Stephen Campbell Moore), a young, new teacher, to get them into to the right mindset for passing the university entrance exams. Although they find the new teacher interesting they still have loyalties to their old teachers, the eccentric and often unorthodox English teacher Hector (Richard Griffiths) and the by-the-book history teacher, Mrs Lintott (Frances de la Tour).
Being adapted from a theatre play it is dialogue heavy and light on action. Plays are contained within a restricted space, although clever set design does expand the possibilities. Movies, on the other hand, have very few limitations and are presented in a far more familiar, if not necessarily tangible, reality that allows for greater scope in the storytelling.
There are lots of verbose scenes in classrooms that give the characters plenty of opportunity to spout Bennett's ideas and his literary knowledge. There are the inevitable matters of teenage male sexuality raised, in both persuasions, which plays a significant part in the story. There are moments of humour but I wouldn't call it a comedy, at least not in the sense that the TV series Teachers was. Inevitably, comparisons have to be drawn with The Dead Poets' Society, although The History Boys is not quite as dramatic, the similarities are clearly visible.
This is definitely a British film, with its seemingly unavoidable grey pallor, but one that should appeal to a wide audience: those that have been through the system and those about to enter it. Of course it has the seemingly obligatory soundtrack of contemporary music plus a selection of show standards performed by Jamie Parker, one of the boys.
With the benefit of the well-rehearsed original cast the performances are very assured and totally believable. If you never got a chance to see the theatre production then definitely see the film version. The only let down is the slightly contrived ending.
The History Boys opens nationwide from October 13.
Cast: Richard Griffiths, Frances de la Tour, Stephen Campbell Moore
School days are supposed to be the best days of our lives, the vital formative years that set up us for our future as members of society, functional or otherwise. Are we being manipulated into believing everything we are told without ever really questioning, by being taught what to think and not how to think for ourselves? Very likely. If you have your own ideas, the chances are you will fail your exams, if you your fail your exams you won't be able to go to university where you become so in debt you have to become a wage slave for the rest of your life. Alan Bennett obviously had some concerns about the education system when he wrote his play, The History Boys, and a lot of people must have been interested in what he had to say about it because it was a huge theatrical hit on both sides of the Atlantic. His ideas can now reach an even wider audience with the release of the film version, which is the second collaboration between Bennett and director Nicholas Hynter, the first was The Madness of King George.
The History Boys is set in Cutler's Grammar School, in the north of England, during the mid 1980s. It focuses on eight boys who are pursuing undergraduate places in Oxford and Cambridge, as they are pushed to succeed by the school's over-zealous headmaster (Clive Merrison). In order for his school to rise up the ranks he enlists Irwin (Stephen Campbell Moore), a young, new teacher, to get them into to the right mindset for passing the university entrance exams. Although they find the new teacher interesting they still have loyalties to their old teachers, the eccentric and often unorthodox English teacher Hector (Richard Griffiths) and the by-the-book history teacher, Mrs Lintott (Frances de la Tour).
Being adapted from a theatre play it is dialogue heavy and light on action. Plays are contained within a restricted space, although clever set design does expand the possibilities. Movies, on the other hand, have very few limitations and are presented in a far more familiar, if not necessarily tangible, reality that allows for greater scope in the storytelling.
There are lots of verbose scenes in classrooms that give the characters plenty of opportunity to spout Bennett's ideas and his literary knowledge. There are the inevitable matters of teenage male sexuality raised, in both persuasions, which plays a significant part in the story. There are moments of humour but I wouldn't call it a comedy, at least not in the sense that the TV series Teachers was. Inevitably, comparisons have to be drawn with The Dead Poets' Society, although The History Boys is not quite as dramatic, the similarities are clearly visible.
This is definitely a British film, with its seemingly unavoidable grey pallor, but one that should appeal to a wide audience: those that have been through the system and those about to enter it. Of course it has the seemingly obligatory soundtrack of contemporary music plus a selection of show standards performed by Jamie Parker, one of the boys.
With the benefit of the well-rehearsed original cast the performances are very assured and totally believable. If you never got a chance to see the theatre production then definitely see the film version. The only let down is the slightly contrived ending.
The History Boys opens nationwide from October 13.
posted by Chris Patmore at 2:25 PM
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