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Borstal Boy

2000, Movie, NR, 91 mins

Borstal Boy: Review

BORSTAL BOY
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Given the serious subject matter, this adaptation of Irish writer Brendan Behan's autobiographical novel is surprisingly light and exceedingly good-natured. The film opens in WWII-era Liverpool, as 16-year-old I.R.A. soldier Brendan (American actor Shawn Hatosy, with a respectable brogue) steps off a steamer and checks into a seedy rented room. He begins to assemble a bomb. Moments later, English agents kick open the door and Brendan is arrested. Found guilty of conspiracy, but too young to be sent to prison, Brendan is packed off to Borstal, a reformatory for boys in East Anglia. It's run by the avuncular governor Joyce (Michael York), a disciplinarian only when he absolutely needs to be. Brendan is handed a woolen jumper and a pair of short trousers, and introduced to the diverse group of boys with whom he'll be bunking for the next four years. There's a Polish Jew who escaped certain death at the hands of Nazis but was later arrested stowing away on a British ship; a Scot (Robin Laing) with a penchant for escaping; a sinister lad from Liverpool (Lee Ingleby) who's been convicted of rape; and Charlie Millwall (Danny Dyer), a gay sailor and petty thief who takes a shine to Brendan. As Brendan's initial distaste for Charlie turns to something approaching sexual attraction, Brendan also begins to develop as a person: He manages to put aside his Republican hatred for all Englishmen and embrace his fellow Borstal boys. He also develops as an artist, and is encouraged to become a writer by Joyce's comely daughter, Liz (Eva Birthistle), who's sitting out the Blitz in East Anglica. The film's tone is more TOM BROWN'S SCHOOLDAYS than SLEEPERS — despite the fact that, before their abolition in 1982, Borstals were notorious for corporal punishment — and is similarly episodic. Most of the episodes, like the boys' production of The Importance of Being Ernest (part of Brendan's artistic and sexual awakening involves a growing appreciation of Oscar Wilde), are lighthearted, but a few — like the escape attempt that ends in tragedy and a pair of near rapes — are dead serious. And while it's nice to see so little fuss made over sexual, religious and national differences, first-time feature director Peter Sheridan (whose brother is MY LEFT FOOT director Jim Sheridan) smoothes over sources of conflict that could have lent the film a bit more depth. leave a comment --Ken Fox
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