Has anyone seen History Boys is it any good?

Question

Going to the pictures tom nite, not sure what to see, might see History boys anyone seen it?

Answer 1

Here's a revew I did for our company website:

In Brief: A group of A-Level students' tremendous results inspire them to return to school for one more term in order to try for the Oxford and Cambridge entrance exams. Alan Bennett's award-winning play hits the big-screen with as much energy as its rabble of teenagers.


In Full: Starring the young cast who first brought it to life in the West End, and their original mentor, Richard Griffiths, The History Boys continues its rollercoaster run onto the big screen, coming across as a piece rightfully well practiced by its cast. The dialogue sparks, the enthusiasm with which it is delivered is never lost, and the ensemble know their roles inside-out.

And yet something is lost in translation which never lets The History Boys be as interesting as it tries and wants to be. While theatre challenges its actors and heaps praise on its writers, film is quite the other way around and it just doesn't quite work on the big-screen. Bennett's writing feels far more detached in an environment that favours realism, his characters resembling stereotypes and his teen cast delivering lines as teenagers, even from the eighties in which it's set, never would.

Though this is not the film's greatest struggle until its final moments which descend into theatrics in a way that just doesn't work on the big screen. The profundity Bennett hopes to find with his ending may work in theatre but here it feels forced and emotionally manipulative. There's a scale achievable with film which, while entertained in splashes of location work, is abandoned for the final act in favour of remaining true to the stage play. Material, regardless of its quality, can only cross medium if it's been suitably adapted and The History Boys just never feels like a film; it's a stage play on film.

Still, its cast and its plot are enough to hold interest until the end. The titular History Boys - a few of whom seem to be getting a little too old to play believable teenagers in a medium that favours the close-up - are incredibly well practiced in their characters, finding moments of personality that simply wouldn't be found by actors approaching the material for the first time. And it's refreshing to see a film be this cerebral in its ideas, challenging its audience to think about the subjects the boys are learning as much as their story.

Original, on the big screen at least, and entertaining in spite of its problems, The History Boys remains a fine example of this country's talent both in front and behind the camera.

Answer 2

yes its cool