Review of The History Boys (2006) by Mb. — 09 Dec 2008

A sadly misunderstood film that aims to teach about the value of knowledge in itself, as opposed to the growing modern emphasis on grades and exams. Seeing this through the experiences of the teenagers also gives insight into the many issues most young schoolboys will run into in their lives, and immediately makes them easily identifiable characters.

Personally I did not feel their performance was lessened any by their age (go complain about Daniel Radcliffe being too old for harry potter if you want-I'd like to see you try to find an acceptable replacement that would not be abhorred by the fans!) and felt that the original actors from the play were very effective - so effective in fact that once I stopped consciously focusing on their age, I forgot the issue entirely! The exploration of homosexuality is another theme the majority of schoolboys will come across, however little they may admit it, and I felt this film explored the issue well.

There is a trend for Hector to be labeled a pedarist when the point was that the boys themselves allowed this to happen as an act of sympathy towards a suppressed man who had very few real pleasures in life.

This man is in fact more admirable than anything else, as it is this man, who upon such a short description would appear as a corrupt, lecherous character, who teaches them the real value of learning and knowledge.

The various teachers embody different aspects of learning too, and I especially noted the headmaster, more concerned with the grades students get than the students themselves, a trend sadly more common these days.

All in all, I feel this film has been too harshly slated by those who only see what is on the surface, and ignore what the film is actually trying to say.