Review of The History Boys (2006) by Richard V — 25 Jul 2008

This film was consistently damned with faint praise when it was released for looking like a stage play. That's not it, actually - it sounds like one. Modern British theatre has a style, tempo and feel which this script punches out, right up to the stylised but incredibly moving 'pause to look forward' scene at the end.

But I love theatre and I love film. They aren't mutually exclusive, and I loved this film. The characters, whilst in a couple of instances, sketchy, are all real. The language (I refuse to say the WORDS) is evocative, the performances nuanced (you can tell how well these lads know characters they played for some time on stage).

It conveys a passion for leanring, the importance of school, and of 'real' education, and how being keen to learn doesn't mean that you aren't a real person. Nostalgia? For me, certainly, though it was 15 years before I was the same age.

But it stimulates, and entertains, and engages. I loved it.