| The History Boys | |
|---|---|
.JPG) Cinema poster | |
| Directed by | Nicholas Hytner |
| Screenplay by | Alan Bennett |
| Based on | The History Boys by Alan Bennett |
| Produced by |
|
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Andrew Dunn |
| Edited by | John Wilson |
| Music by | George Fenton |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Fox Searchlight Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 112 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Budget | £2 million |
| Box office | $11.2 million |
The History Boys is a 2006 Britishcomedy drama filmadapted byAlan Bennett fromhis 2004 play, which won the 2005Olivier Award for Best New Play and the 2006Tony Award for Best Play. It was directed byNicholas Hytner, who directed the original production at theRoyal National Theatre in London, and features the original cast of the play.
The school scenes were filmed inWatford in two schools,Watford Grammar School for Boys andWatford Grammar School for Girls. The film uses the uniform ofWatford Boys. Locations inElland andHalifax, West Yorkshire, are used to create the broader landscape ofSheffield in which the story is set.
Bennett’s bookKeeping On Keeping On, which consists of his diaries from 2005 to 2015 with a few other essays, contains a chapter, “The History Boys, Film Diary”, in which Bennett records his experiences and reflections during, and shortly after, the making of the film. This diary starts on 14 July 2005 and continues with entries every few days up to 24 August, followed by the final entry on 1 November 2005.[1]
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In a boys'grammar school inSheffield in 1983, students Crowther, Posner, Dakin, Timms, Akthar, Lockwood, Scripps, and Rudge have recently obtained the school's highest-everA-Level scores and are hoping to enterOxford orCambridge, by taking a seventh-term entrance exam in History. The General Studies teacher, known to staff and boys alike by his nickname "Hector", is much beloved, and works alongside their deputy head and regular History teacher, Mrs Lintott. The Headmaster, known by all as "Felix", appoints a temporary teacher, Tom Irwin, to help the boys. Irwin states that he was atJesus College, Oxford, when interviewed by the Headmaster. Before the entrance examinations, he says to Dakin that he was at Corpus (Corpus Christi College). Dakin discovers on his interview day at Oxford that Irwin did not attend. Irwin is only a little older than his students but proves to be a bold and demanding teacher, and particularly difficult to impress.
As part of their General Studies, the class acts out scenes from romantic films and literature. After each class, Hector offers a lift to one of the students on his motorbike and it is generally known (and initially dismissed as a joke) that he touches them inappropriately on the ride. The only one he never takes along is Posner, a slight Jewish boy, who doesn't hide his infatuation with Dakin. Dakin, who characterises himself as an aspiring lecher, is currently pursuing an affair with the headmaster's secretary, Fiona. He is not displeased by Posner's attention, but finds himself increasingly interested in Irwin. Gradually, Dakin's quest to impress Irwin on an intellectual level evolves into a flirtatious, potentially sexual pursuit of his young teacher, who is visibly attracted to Dakin. Meanwhile, Hector's indiscretions are shockingly revealed, and Felix instructs him to "retire early".
The boys continue their studies and all gain places at Oxford and Cambridge, including the dimwitted Rudge, with Posner winning a scholarship and Dakin anexhibition. On the day they gather at school to share their results, Dakin quietly calls out Irwin on his lie of attending Oxford. Irwin admits that he studied at Bristol and attended Oxford only for a teaching diploma. Dakin then asks him out for a drink, overtly revealing his sexual interest in him, much to Irwin's confusion and repressed enthusiasm. They agree to get together that very Sunday. Dakin then proceeds to the Headmaster's office and, by threatening to reveal Felix's own sexual harassment of Fiona, forces him to reinstate Hector.
As the boys prepare to leave the grammar school, Hector, revealing that he is staying on at the school, agrees to give Dakin a ride home on the motorbike "for old times' sake". However, before they leave, the headmaster runs out and stops them, saying that Hector should not take one of the boys. He suggests that Hector take Irwin instead. Dakin gladly hands the helmet to Irwin, and the screen fades to white as they drive off, the boys waving and happy and laughing.
A motorcycle accident occurs off-screen, and Hector is killed, although Irwin survives with a broken leg. Dakin says that Irwin had never been on the back of a bike and so may have unbalanced Hector, causing the accident, and that he and Irwin never got a chance to meet that Sunday.
The boys sing "Bye Bye Blackbird" at Hector's memorial service, and the Headmaster gives a eulogy. Mrs Lintott then turns and asks: "Will they come to my funeral, I wonder?" The school hall is shown with only the boys sitting in it, and each recounts his life after school. Akthar became a headmaster, Crowther a magistrate, Timms a drug-taking owner of a dry-cleaning chain, and Dakin a well-off tax lawyer. Lockwood, a junior army officer, was killed by friendly fire at the age of 28. Rudge became a builder, Scripps a journalist, and Irwin makes history TV programmes (though Mrs Lintott considers them "more journalism than history"). Posner is a teacher and takes the same approach that Hector did, save for the touching. The final shot recalls the boys and teachers posing for a photo on their field trip toFountains Abbey, with Hector's voice encouraging them all to "pass it on".
The majority of the main cast later appeared in Bennett's 2015 filmThe Lady in the Van, with de la Tour in a prominent role andcameo roles for Moore, Anderson, Barnett, Cooper, Corden, Dhawan, Knott, Tovey and Parker. Griffiths died in 2013, beforeThe Lady in the Van was shot.
Richard Schickel ofTime opined that the film is better than the original play. He explained that the transformation to film improved the "flow and intimacy" of the production, while preserving the messages it seeks to convey.[2]Rolling Stone notes that some sense of familiarity with the subject of the film is lost in the cutting of nearly an hour from the original play, but the dialogue remains witty and pointed as is the customary style of the author.[3]New York describes the film as "brilliant and infectious", and filled with Alan Bennett's customarydeadpan humour.[4]
The play did receive some criticism and controversy around the character of Hector, a teacher who molests the students. Nick Clark ofThe Independent wrote, "Bennett raised eyebrows with his sympathetic portrayal of Hector, the teacher forced to step down forfondling his teenage pupils".[5] In a 2006 interview with David Batty ofThe Guardian, he described Bennett as "laugh[ing] off any suggestion he is condoning paedophilia." Bennett stated, "The boys are all consenting adults, and Hector's behaviour is very unthreatening. The boys all consider him to be a bit of a joke and just tolerate it as part of the price of his eccentric teaching style. I didn't write in his death to redeem his transgression, I did it to make the drama work."[6] In 2013 Bennett revealed he was "interfered with as a child but was not greatly affected by the experience".[7]
David Batty ofThe Guardian strongly criticised the film, stating he "came away bristling with annoyance at its romanticised portrayal of Hector, a teacher who serially gropes the teenage boys in his study group." He found the situation "bizarre and unsatisfactory," adding, "What's the message Bennett's trying to convey here? That it's OK for teachers to molest their pupils as long as they help them get intoOxford orCambridge? Or is the audience meant to excuse Hector's behaviour on the grounds that he grew up in an age whenhomosexuality was repressed...Whatever the intention, the misty-eyed, nostalgic tone seems totally unsuited to addressing such a thorny topic."[8]
TheNational Board of Review of Motion Pictures namedThe History Boys one of the Top Ten Films in its 2006 awards.[9]
The film was nominated for the2007GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Film – Limited Release.[10]
Griffiths and de la Tour receivedBAFTA nominations for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress, respectively.
| Title | Performed by |
|---|---|
| "L'Accordéoniste" | Samuel Barnett,Jamie Parker |
| "Bewitched" | Samuel Barnett, Jamie Parker |
| "Now Voyager" | Jamie Parker |
| Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor – Adagio sostenuto | Jamie Parker |
| "Wish Me Luck (As You Wave Me Goodbye)" | Cast |
| "Bye Bye Blackbird" | Samuel Barnett, Jamie Parker, cast |
| "Wish Me Luck (As You Wave Me Goodbye)" | Gracie Fields |
| "Blue Monday" | New Order |
| "This Charming Man" | The Smiths |
| "Mustapha Dance" | The Clash |
| "Never Stop (Discothèque)" | Echo & the Bunnymen |
| "A Forest" | The Cure |
| "Papa's Got a Brand New Pigbag" | Pigbag |
| "Bewitched" | Rufus Wainwright |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
