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DVD Release/Currently available on BBC iPlayer
In the early 1980s, a group of
working class boys are singled out by their headmaster as being potential
Oxbridge candidates. Newcomer Mr Irwin is assigned to educate them in the ways
of the university selection system whilst old favourite Hector continues to
inspire them in his eccentric way.
This is the original cast that
performed Alan Bennett’s West End play, and Bennett is back again here to write
the screenplay. As a translation from stage to screen it works very well as it
still retains the intimacy you get when someone is performing in the same room
as you. All the actors, who have obviously worked together before, have
undeniable chemistry and the banter they have with their various teachers and
each other is wholly believable and utterly charming. All the boys get enough
screen time for the audience to become acquainted with them individually,
although some characters do get more attention than others such. Stephen
Campbell Moore is excellent as Mr Irwin and his later scenes with Dakin
(Dominic Cooper) feel completely genuine, and you end up willing for more to
happen between the pair (well, I did). Richard Griffiths is the more eccentric
teacher, Hector, whose lessons extend outside of the classroom. Indeed, this
aspect of the story is rather uncomfortable with the current sexual scandals.
The outcome is probably a little
too predictable, but the film diverts the viewer from complete happiness but
adding on an oneiric scene which tells us what happens to the students after
their time at Sixth Form ends. This is another credit to the film – it doesn’t
shy away from the hardship and angst of being a young person trying to navigate
the world and being under pressure to apply for the top universities. Amongst
the humour, there are moments of sadness and even bitterness but the film
rattles along at a fairly brisk pace and keeps you engaged throughout.
As an Oxbridge reject myself, it
was perhaps inevitable that I would enjoy a film such as this, and there are
some great quotes from literature to be found. The philosophy of the film seems
a little unsure at times, but overall this is a pretty decent movie that doesn’t
demand much of its audience and ends up giving a lot back.
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