Borstal Boy (2000)

Director:

Peter Sheridan

Writers:

Brendan Behan (book)
Nye Heron (writer)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

In 1942, acclaimed Irish poet Brendan Behan was sent to a reform school. What he learned was that love knows no prison.

Plot:

Irish writer and political activist Brendan Behan, is befriended as a teenager in a British labor camp by a liberal warden.

Plot Keywords:

Coming Of Age | Irish Republican Army | Sailor | Power Struggle | Painting

Awards:

1 win & 4 nominations

Cast

Shawn Hatosy	...	Brendan Behan
Danny Dyer	...	Charlie Milwall
Lee Ingleby	...	Dale
Robin Laing	...	Jock
Eva Birthistle	...	Liz Joyce
Michael York	...	Joyce
Mark Huberman	...	Mac
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jim Byrne	...	Parson
Garret Deady	...	Borstal Boy
Darren Donohue	...	Borstal Boy
Ronnie Drew	...	Customs Man
William Fitzpatrick	...	Borstal Boy
Luke Griffin	...	Miller
Trevor Hanly	...	Soldier
Lukas Hassel	...	Hassel (as Klaus Hassel)
Luke Hayden	...	Alex
Patricia Levento	...	Landlady
Ian McElhinney	...	Verreker
Keith Murtagh	...	Borstal Boy
Viko Nikci	...	Jerzy
Jer O'Leary	...	Republican in Court
John O'Toole	...	Whitbread
Arthur Riordan	...	Librarian
Owen Sharpe	...	Albert
Eoin Slattery	...	James

Runtime:

Italy:93 min

Country:

UK | Ireland

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland

Company:

British Screen Productions

Quotes:

[about Love]
Brendan Behan: I had it both ways... just like Oscar Wilde.

Bad Boy Goes Good

What a surprise of a little movie. Young American actor Shawn Hatosy (he's from Frederick, Maryland) gives an astonishing performance as IRA teen gone wrong, Irish writer Brendan Behan. Hatosy's "angry young man" is sincerely angry, but there are cracks in that tough veneer that show a sensitive, thoughtful kid wanting to break out. (Measure Hatosy's performance from "Outside Providence" to "Borstal Boy" and we're looking at a young actor of exceptional depth and promise.)

At the reformatory Borstal, Brendan discovers new hardships: living, eating and sleeping with his enemies. He learns however, that deep down, our enemies have the same needs, wants, fears and desires as we do ourselves. His budding friendship with the openly gay sailor, Charlie Milwal - despite its rocky beginning, captures the joy and frustration of having a best friend and through this friendship each learns how to understand, forgive and love. As Charlie, Danny Dyer gives a performance which is in every regard as equally deep as Hatosy's.

Brendan's taking to fellow Irishman Oscar Wilde and his eventual barnhouse production of "The Importance of Being Earnest" mounted by the young convicts for their fellow inmates. This is an absolute joy and becomes almost the fulcrum from which the story veers into its final direction.

Michael York, Eva Birthistle and the rest of the ensemble all contribute fine performances (particularly Ms. Birthistle who, as a secondary love interest doesn't arrive until a good half way through the story and is both beautiful and touching).

Director Peter Sheridan crams an almost unbelievable amount of story into into a mere 90 minutes so the film flies by. The ending may be a bit abrupt tying things up too tidily, but this is a minor quibble in a stunning, touching gem of a movie.