Review of The History Boys (2006) by Amanda J — 15 Dec 2009

Really enjoyed this film version of the Alan Bennett play with original cast members Richard Griffiths and Frances De La Tour (both Harry Potter film-series alums) as well as Dominic Cooper (the latest Mr.

Willoughby in the latest film of Sense & Sensibility). Loved the raucous crew of boys facing final exams and their academic futures. And I loved the trio of professors leading the boys' educations in their own poignant fashion.

There are some very mature themes here dealing with sexuality and sexual misconduct. And to say that Bennett makes pedophilia in any way acceptable is missing the point. It's about how education deceives; how perfection comes with imperfection; how people can be both likable and deplorable human beings.

It's about the legitimacy of necessity; and about the supposedly well-educated tricking themselves into thinking that children are uneducated in the realities of life; that highly educated means better educated.

Oftentimes the adults come off as the blighted, uneducated and friendless minors they think their capable and strategically gifted lot of students are. Then the next minute, boys will be boys. Role reversals, random acts and methods to madness galore!