Review of Borstal Boy (2001) by Breandán M — 01 Feb 2010
Watchable, but seriously disappointing. For reasons I cannot even imagine, Sheridan took Behan's rebellious and humane memoir-novel and turned it into a mediocre Lifetime movie.
Admittedly, I really wanted to like the love affair between Charlie and Brendan--there was, after all, a homoerotic subtext to their friendship in the book. But the whole thing was so botched, and it was added to the completely fabricated romance with Liz, the deletion of major characters (like Joe), and the simplification of Shaggy into a cruel disgusting sociopath and literate, tolerant Brendan into precisely the type of quare-hatin' Irish bogman he loathed. Just doesn't work.
This review of Borstal Boy (2001) was written by Breandán M on 01 Feb 2010.
Borstal Boy has generally received positive reviews.
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