Boys Grammar (2005)

That was an excellent one.

I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

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

the basic purpose of director seems be to impress. not for story but for the degree of violence. it is a option, not bad if the violence is real necessary for the develop of story. but Boys Grammar is reduced only at violence level. the past relations between boys, the book itself, the dinner, the attitude of the father are roots. ignored in film. sure, a films about tolerance and against bullying is far to be wrong. but the manner to do it impose more than a sadistic moment and a sketch of revenge. result - the viewer , using the pieces from film, could recreate his story about boys and their relationship. but is it enough ?

There are dozens of gay-related short films and this one is everything they should not be. It goes for unnecessary violence, noisy shouting and screaming and pure shock value instead of carefully developing a story the viewer can relate to or, if he's not gay, gain interest in watching. Occasionally, these kinds of films manage to at least partially save it with a good ending, but this isn't the case here either. The punching, then holding sequence of the main character, just doesn't feel believable at all. I can't even say the director was still trying to find his style as he already shot short films for over 5 years.All in all, it was quite a disappointment, clearly style over substance with sub-par acting and only the father's performance, who shows why coming-outs are often that hard, keeps me from giving it an even lower score.

A truly horrifying film--even if you know what's coming, seeing it executed may be too much for some viewers. When Gareth(the young gay protagonist) is pinned against a locker by Nick (the swimmer he's been admiring), the use of silence is almost unbearable; we hear him saying all the wrong things to Nick ("You like this human form?""Maybe") and the pauses reverberate with our silent protests (what is supposed to happen in Pinter, but rarely does). We can see the terrible decision the other boys make, yet thedirector skillfully draws out the next few seconds before the point ofno return is reached, until we're ready to scream. The actual act takes only a couple of minutes, but they're some of the longest minutes incinema. And the final shot on the dining room floor is deeply, deeply sad; it posits the idea that some people are so damaged they will take love from monsters.

...In the rape scene, I've heard it carefully one and over again, and Gareth never says anything like "give it to me" he actually is in pain and just screaming the hell out of him. The one that indeed is talking, is Nick, like saying things like "imagine this is my cock..." and before that, he says something that I quite don't get it because of the BGM and the other boys yelling. And the thing they use, it's not a dildo, I read somewhere else, it was a sort of part of furniture or something like that, 'cause as the comment above said, why would Nick carry a 'giant dildo'.Excellent Short Film, loved everything of it, specially the music at the end.:)