Written by Alan Bennett
Directed by Nicholas Hytner
Rudge: "How do I define history? It's just one fuckin' thing after another."
Another LGBT themed movie I've wanted to catch up with in a while was this one. I mean it's a who's who look at some of the most known British actors on television and many of whom have also appeared on Doctor Who over the last few years.
Set in a Sheffield grammar school, the students in question are a rowdy but eclectic bunch. There's the ringleader himself, Stuart Dakin (Dominic Cooper), who's something of a cheeky chappy but what of the others?
Well, there's the Jewish David Posner (Samuel Barnett), who's gay and in love with Dakin, Muslim Adi Akthar (Sacha Dhawan), part time milkman Jimmy Lockwood (Andrew Knott) as well as golf enthusiast Peter Rudge (Russell Tovey), stoner Anthony Timms (James Corden) and the snarky Donald Scripps (Jamie Parker).
Like I said, they're a riotous bunch and their relationships with various educational figures as they waited for exam results are handled amusingly enough. On the least prominent relationship would be with gym teacher, Wilkes (Adrian Scarborough) who's an ineffectual authority figure on the boys.
Their relationship with General Studies and English teacher, Douglas "Hector" (Richard Griffiths) was the most explored. Hector's wandering hands with the boys certainly hit murky territory with even the much hated Headmaster Felix (Clive Merrison) trying to force Hector's retirement to come into effect early than Hector would've liked. Oddly, it's the boys - Dakin specifically who ended up fighting Hector's corner.
The temporary History teacher, Tom Irwin (Stephen Campbell Moore) had a different style of teaching with the boys. He was partially a foil and a meal for of sorts to them. Posner had the courage to come out to Irwin while a post exam results Dakin tried to get him to come out for a drink with him.
The last act of this movie had great moments. A look into the boys future with mixed results into their futures. Some of these lads prospered, some didn't and one of them found himself in a similar position to a former teacher. There's a bittersweet ending to this movie.
- While this is a very male led film, there's some nice supporting roles for Frances de la Tour, Penelope Wilton and Georgia Taylor respectively.
- At least one of the boys died off screen. The ending in the original play was bleaker compared to this adaptation.
- Standout music: Rufus Wainwright's version of Bewitched as Samuel Barnett and Jamie Parker's version, New Order's Blue Monday and The Smith's This Charming Man.
- Chronology: 1983 Sheffield for most of this movie.
The History Boys took a great play and delivered a great movie adaptation with an arguably better ending for it too. The standout performances are hard to nail because everyone single actor brought their A game here. It's a funny, touching, clever and bittersweet movie.
Rating: 9 out of 10