ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies

IT IS TEN years since Alan Bennett and director Nicholas Hytner collaborated on the Oscar-winning screen version of their joint stage hit ‘The Madness Of King George’.

Now they seem set to enjoy a similar degree of success with the film adaptation of Bennett’s triumphant play ‘The History Boys’.

Set in Yorkshire in the 1980s, this is an affectionate, semi-autobiographical portrait of boys on the brink of manhood and an examination of what we expect from our education system.

Literate, civilised and deeply witty, it is that rare British film that should be able to hold its own against the might of the Hollywood blockbusters.

The focus of ‘The History Boys’ is a class of talented comprehensive school boys who all have the potential to become candidates for Oxford and Cambridge. Their headmaster is thrilled at the prospect of so many of his pupils going on to greater achievements.

He believes the boys are clever but lack the charm, polish and cunning that will allow them to sail through the entrance exams and interviews. He hires history teacher Irwin (Stephen Campbell Moore) to challenge their ideas and prepare them for what lies ahead.

His ideas clash with those of their beloved Hector (Richard Griffiths), a man who wants to teach the boys about the joys of life, love and literature rather than merely preparing them for an exam.

Told with Bennett’s trademark warmth, humour and observant eye, ‘The History Boys’ is brilliantly performed by the original cast, and manages to provoke both laughter and poignancy.

The boys sometimes seem far too self-aware and mature for their own good, but their behaviour allows Bennett to explore all the quirks, glories and peccadilloes that make us all human.

Nationwide release
Director: Nicholas Hytner
Stars: Richard Griffiths, Stephen Campbell Moore, Dominic Cooper, Frances de la Tour, Samuel Anderson
Screenwriter: Alan Bennett, based on his play
Certificate: 15
Running time: 110 mins
Country: UK
Year: 2006

© Allan Hunter, 2006