Themes: Kids in Trouble, Boarding School Life, Innocence Lost
Main Cast: Shawn Hatosy, Danny Dyer, Michael York, Lee Ingleby, Robin Laing
Release Year: 2000
Country: UK/IE
Run Time: 93 minutes
Plot
Brendan Behan's famous memoir about his troubled youth formed the basis of this drama. Brendan (Shawn Hatosy) is a 16-year-old boy from Ireland who loathes the British and is eager to do something about it. Brendan sails into Liverpool, but is discovered to be carrying the makings of a bomb; he's soon placed under arrest and thrown into a borstal (British reform school), where he finds himself surrounded by a collection of tough-as-nails English delinquents. While his political beliefs don't change, Brendan learns to become more tolerant of others as he makes friends with a few of his fellow inmates, including Charlie (Danny Dyer), who dreams of sailing away some day, and Scottish Jock (Robin Laing). Brendan also has to deal with the pains of first love when he becomes infatuated with Liz (Eva Birthistle), the daughter of the school's master (Michael York). Borstal Boy marked the film debut of stage director Peter Sheridan, the brother of noted Irish filmmaker Jim Sheridan. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Review
Borstal Boy is a pleasant but formulaic coming-of-age movie that seems too sentimental and devoid of irony for its gritty subject matter. Shawn Hatosy gives an acceptable performance as Brendan, but the character is too easygoing and bland, particularly considering what's known about his real-life counterpart, and his time in a reform school seems too much like a stay in summer camp (except, of course, for the obligatory escape attempt). Granted, there are some deviations from the standard movie storyline; for example, Brendan is infatuated with the school master's daughter, of course, but he also has a sexually ambiguous friendship with a gay inmate. This produces some tension, but not as much inner turmoil as you might expect for someone with Brendan's background. Perhaps this unwillingness to delve too deeply into Brendan's psyche is one reason why the film fails to provide much insight into his creative mind as it addresses the development of his interest in writing. Instead, the movie sticks doggedly to a cozy triumph-over-adversity plot without generating much dramatic tension. It's not a bad movie, but it's a bit slow and nothing special. ~ Todd Kristel, All Movie Guide
