The History Boys
Year of production:2006
Director: Nicholas Hytner
Main Stars: Dominic Cooper, Richard Griffiths and James Corden
Summary: The film revolves around a group of gifted teenagers who by their headmaster are pushed to pass their entrance exams for oxford and Cambridge. The headmaster brings in a young teacher Irwin who he hopes will polish the boys styles so that they have the best chance at getting in. Meanwhile their general studies teacher Hector is rightly accused of groping a student boy.
My Thoughts: I dont really know what to make of this as its stated as a comedy yet i really did'nt find it that funny or that entertaining, it could be to do with the fact that this was a successful play and so maybe the transition from stage to screen does'nt really work that well. I feel that the film has a homosexual backstory or undertone with both Hector and one of the Students being homosexual and i think the film is trying to show the audience the effect it can have on both ages but again i struggled to fully understand the messages that the film is promoting or asking the audience to concentrate on. What the film positively shows however is you can make a very deep story from a small budget and a bunch of british actors with each character having their own unique character. The fact that it was adapted from a stage play speaks for itself as how popular and successful the play is. Overall I didnt understand the film on first watch so many repeat viewings will unlock what the film is trying to say.
6/10
I think that Tim is right in regard to the fact that it is often difficult to turn a play into a film without the narratology, and in particular the characters, appearing two dimensional.
ReplyDeleteBecause the demonstration of heirarchy within the group of boys is not limited to dialogue, but also non-verbal communication (such as body language), their behaviour on stage and film is projected entirely differently.
I find that this is because on the introduction of a camera, the film makers are suddenly faced with the issue of having to pin point the action of a scene rather than understand the situation of each person in regard to the other.
Not only does this hinder the audience's ability to gage the group as a whole's opinions of each other, but the film also has the potential to appear contrived because attention is paid suddenly to more central characters like Dakin rather than how the boys function as a unit.
Other than that, I think the film is brilliant. Yes it is heavily dependent on dialogue, but God, the dialogue is so witty and indicative of the human nature, the perhaps misplaced prestige of places like Oxford, adolescence and boys in general, that I don't honestly care.