Borstal Boy (2001)

Good movie but grossly overrated

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

BORSTAL BOY is a thoughtful prison drama based on the true-life experiences of Irish poet Brendan Bahen. The story is a political and reflective one in which Bahen, then part of the IRA, is captured by the authorities during WW2 and sent to live at a borstal in hated England. While there he discovers that the enemy are not all that they seem and that they might not be so bad after all...Certainly the DVD cover is a piece of blatant false advertising, adorned in barbed wire and featuring a recent photo of Danny Dyer covered in stubble, no doubt from one of his gangster flicks. In actual fact, an incredibly youthful Dyer appears only in support, although his performance as a friendly sailor is a good one. And this isn't your usual tough prison drama at all - although there are elements of the genre here (rape, escape) they're handled in a deliberately sensitive and non-sensationalist way.Throughout the story the human drama is paramount, and thus this proves a fitting reflection of the times in much the same way as a Catherine Cookson TV movie reflects life in the early 20th century north. The only problem I have with it is that Shawn Hatosy's acting is a little wooden.

I admit to not having yet read the book on which this film is based and I'm willing to concede that the book may well be far better than the film; as alluded to in other reviews. That being said, I found this film touching, funny, controversial, unique, all those adjectives and more.The casting of Danny Dyer as a homosexual sailor in the 1940s really shows his versatility as an actor and I believe this must have been a challenging and rewarding part. The film deals with issues that are taboo even by today's standards and although the narrative can be at times overly sentimental, these scenes are strangely refreshing and poignant.Danny Dyer has some great lines and one hilarious scene involving a football. "Borstal Boy" is unprecedented in its approach to controversial issues and makes for a film well worth watching.

Brendan Behan is a young Irish that understands the consequences of his actions when it's too late. Carrying explosives for the IRA, Brendan is apprehended during the first sequences of Peter Sheridan's film.Here there is clearly a disruption between the boy's wishes and his actions. For undisclosed reasons he has perpetrated a most dire action against the integrity of the United Kingdom. Or he has had such a purpose, anyway. How far can one go when insurgence seems to be the only way out? In a troubled time, in a troubled Ireland, Brendan Behan risks everything and he fails.He is arrested and sent to Borstal, to become yet another Borstal boy in a most peculiar penitentiary facility. Deprived of his liberty, he treats Charlie Milwall with hostility, although later he will develop an intense friendship with this young inmate.Behan is blinded by ideology. After all ideology is nothing more than a social construction which pertains many ambits of society. One could talk about the heterosexual normative as an ideology so strongly rooted that seems impossible to vanquish. In this case, the most obvious ideological weight comes from the ties Brendan has with the Irish Republic Army.Authors as diverse as Daniel Bell and Albert Camus have written about the end of ideologies. Ideology can blind people and will always be influential in the way they see the world, regardless of the positive or negative outcome of this process, ideology is a perception of the world that leaves as strong a mark as one's own body or personal history. It's then logical that Brendan struggles to be faithful to the IRA's ideology failing over and over again.Ideology also blinds Brendan when it comes to his true feelings. He tries to convince himself that he loves the warden's daughter. That is why at first he angrily repels Charlie's harmless advances. But then, very slowly, he starts to give in. They share one precious intimate moment before some prisoners attempt to abuse the warden's daughter. As a result Brendan has mere seconds to decide who he should protect. Must he embrace the norm, id est, heterosexuality or could he accept the forbidden, id est, homosexuality? Once again he denies his true self, and in doing so, he forever condemns Charlie to oblivion. Just as in the beginning of the film, Brendan will fully understand the consequence of his decision only when it's too late to change it. When he realizes there is nothing left to do, he truly opens his eyes. Ideology has fallen apart: his allegiance to the IRA is over, as well as his relationship with the warden's daughter. Brendan is at last, literally and metaphorically, free.

Two brilliant but under rated performances by Shawn Hatosy as Brendan Behan and Danny Dyer as Charlie Millwall.This film captures the pithiness of the original play but invokes the intense friendships of an earlier era when emotions such as these had no outlet which was positive.But the love and the pathos which is portrayed by these two brilliant actors is to be recommended.It is a travesty that such a film could not garner the appreciation it deserves on the world stage.The location is filmed just outside of Dublin, so it has the predominant colours of grey and green which enhance the drabness of the borstal scenes.Michael York although past his best, puts in a creditable performance as the Governor of the borstal.This film is a must see for aficionados of Danny Dyer.