Boychoir (2014)

Fresh and Exciting

Clever, believable, and super fun to watch. It totally has replay value.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

I Was thoroughly entertained and was not expecting it.

This movie resembles Les Choristes quite a bit, and seems to be pretty much a copycat. While the characters, and main plot are different, the premise is the same. A boy who has musical talent, but no discipline, and a teacher (or teachers) who believe in helping him reach his full potential. The acting fell short for a movie like this, and did not evoke much emotion from me. Wareing plays his part of an emotionally repressed kid well enough. And Lucas and McHale had supporting roles, so weren't too bad as well. However, I was confused by Hoffman's character and the way he presented himself. First off, he always mumbled, and his voice is so low that it's hardly discernible what he is saying. Then, there's the issue of his characteristics. His character seems a little autistic (think Rain Man), and I got the sense that there might be more to his character than shown, but it is never explored. So, the movie pretty much focuses on Stet, but because there is not much connection with others, or exploration of other characters' backgrounds, the emotions don't transcend the screen. As well, the editing, and probably the directing, had something to do with this slightly disappointing movie. There are instances in the film where images overlap with each other, and this was pretty confusing. Some cuts are disconcerting as well, and made me disconnect further with the film. Additionally, the music that the boys supposedly sang served as an interesting game for my friend and I, as we tried to distinguish what language it was. While some words sounded like English, the rest sounded like gibberish - which we concluded was probably Latin. And while the music was quite enjoyable, the lip-syncing was not. Everything was just disconnected in this movie. Overall, you are better off watching Les Choristes, as there isn't much to miss in this one.

Boychoir (2014): Dir: Francois Girard / Cast: Garrett Wareing, Dustin Hoffman, Josh Lucas, Kathy Bates, Joe West: Impressive drama focusing on the voice of a troubled youth. Garrett Wareing plays Stet whose mother is a prostitute and this plays into his bad behaviour. When she is killed in a car accident, he is met with the father who hasn't seen him in ages. Josh Lucas plays him and he has distanced himself from his previous relationship despite still paying child support. He has since married with two daughters following as well as an upper class lifestyle. He buys his sheltered son into a music school where boy's singing talent can be explored. From there it becomes a back and forth battle between Stet and Carvelle, an accomplished and well received conductor of the school's boychoir. Wareing gives a great performance as a kid from a broken home and despite sparring against authority he still hopes to use his talent to elevate a purpose of living. Hoffman as the no-nonsense Carvelle voices his frustration with Stet's conductor / professor who, despite his reluctance, still sees a light of promising talent. Lucas as Stet's father is guilt ridden and uses payoffs to aid it. Kathy Bates provides comic relief as the school dean who desires to see the choir move pro. Finally there is Joe West as the rival kid whose voice everyone bets on until Stet steals the moment. West as Devon uses dirty tactics that work well in providing tension with Stet's placement in the choir as well as the school. The result is a crowd pleasing drama with a voice promising a better tomorrow for the underdog facing huge odds. Score: 9 / 10

This film has been unfairly bashed by a lot of critics because of it's lack of originality. My take on this is the subject matter cannot go in that many directions. You can find similarities in every films about choir boys. Heck even the hit cult French film "The Chorist is far from original and recycle story lines from films that came before it. In most of these films you will get a trouble boy or boys who gets his or their life changed by his or their new found love of singing. This film is no different and if you are aware of that before going into it you will see the good point of that film rather then the fact that it is a very familiar story. Young and troubled Stet (Garrett Wareing) is sent to a Choir school by his father he never met before (Stet is a secret son,the product of a one night stand) following the death of his junkie mother. Things start roughly as Stet is accepted via bribe by his father desperate to put his son somewhere so he can be back to his real family. This causes some students and teachers to only see Stet as a charity case with no real musical talent.However Stet determination pays off and the main teacher Mr Carvelle (Dustin Hoffman) finally start noticing that their might be more to the boy then meet the eye. So yes pretty straightforward story and yes it sound like a TV movie from lifetime but you know what it has a good heart and all the actors seems to really enjoy themselves. Kathy Bates as the overworked headmistress ,Eddy Izzard as a competitive teacher , Kevin McHale as the teacher who first notice Stet's talent along with Hoffman creates a very interesting dynamic and they breath life to the school. Garrett Wareing is easy to root for as Stet , he his misunderstood and a victim of his upbringing.The actor convey that sense of wanting to break free from the tag everybody has placed on him all his life and he convey a quiet sort of will power and maturity really well. The only thing that bothered me is Stet's relationship with his father felt rushed and underdeveloped and they wrapped this storyline conveniently.It is a shame as it was intriguing and it could have been explored a lot more. With that said , listen ! Yeah this films has received a lot of bad review for being too "Simple" but people who are interested in theses type of films should not be looking for "Interstellar" they should be looking for a sweet little heart warmer with excellent music and songs and this film do that! (The singing is AMAZING) !!! A perfect little film to watch on a rainy Sunday. I give it a 8 out of 10.