Directed by
Nicolas Hytner
104 minutes
Rated M
Reviewed by
Sharon Hurst
The History Boys
Synopsis: In a boys’ school in northern England in 1983 a small group of students is getting ready to sit their university entrance exams. The headmaster hires a slick young teacher Mr Irwin (Stephen Campbell Moore) to smarten up the boys’ essay writing, and so give them a better chance of getting into the top universities, while the old tried and true literature teacher Mr Hector (Richard Griffiths) tries to impart his wisdom in other ways, not the least of them being feeling up his students!Particularly as Alan Bennett has been used as scriptwriter in this adaptation of his umpteen Tony Awards-winning play of the same name, The History Boys is very faithful to the original source material . Notwithstanding, perhaps I am not the best choice of reviewer for this film for I must confess to being a little tired of these ivy-covered public schoolboy dramas, particularly when they are so theatricalized with but a few exterior shots self-consciously thrown in to acknowledge the cinematic form.
What is interesting, however, is the totally different methods the two teachers follow. The eccentric Hector encourages singing, reciting of poetry, and is a dab hand himself with verse and witty riposte. He is passionate about what he teaches and adores learning for its own sake. Irwin however is more focussed on test results and getting the lads into college. What really intrigued me though was why the character of Hector is seen by his students as such a loveable old character, (affectionately referred to as “a sad fuck”) when today the social attitude to teachers making moves on their students is one of total condemnation. Apparently it’s all considered OK because the boys are over 18.
Richard Griffiths is superb in his role. Despite his character being an old pervert, he nevertheless manages to infuse Hector with a side that will elicit the audience’s sympathy. In many ways the film belongs to him and is probably worth seeing for his performance, if nothing else. Campbell Moore also gives a strong performance as Irwin, whose character totally surprises us towards the film’s end. The young actors playing the boys are also terrific in their roles: Dominic Cooper is especially notable as Daken, the spunk who’s up for anything with anyone, while Samuel Barnett as Posner, the gay, Jewish boy is also excellent. Clive Merrison is so over-the-top and archetypically English as the headmaster he’s almost a parody of himself. Frances de la Tour also shines as the acerbic teacher, Dorothy Lintott, who actually has some very funny lines.
The film is rich with plenty of funny one-liners, especially the view of history as seen by Rudge, a rather ordinary boy who doesn’t care less if he gets into university: “History is just one fucking thing after another”, he says. I suppose if you love the cynically-tinged humour of these lines, especially Hector’s repetitive assertion of “Pass it on”, (referring no doubt to passing on of knowledge) then you’ll really enjoy this rather stylised film.
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