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Borstal Boy

Country: UK, Language: English, 93 mins

  • Director: Peter Sheridan
  • Writer: Brendan Behan; Nye Heron
  • Producer: Judy Counihan; Nye Heron

CGiii Comment

Sterilised and, practically, stripped of any real realism - if that's what you have to do for a mainstream release...then, what's the point?!?

It simply plods along and drifts into a plastic tear-jerker.

Sheridan has, possibly, created the most polite juvenile delinquents ever.

The homosexuality is so under-played as to make it insipid - Behan's sexuality is dubious to say the least...but, he was a vile drunk who stretched the truth to unimaginable lengths.

Almost totally implausible - watchable for all the wrong reasons...seeing Dyer being out-acted by Hatosy is uncomfortable viewing.


Trailer...

The(ir) Blurb...

Brendan Behan, a sixteen year-old republican, is going on a bombing mission from Ireland to Liverpool during the second world war. His mission is thwarted when he is apprehended, charged and imprisoned in Borstal, a reform institution for young offenders in East Anglia, England. At Borstal, Brendan is forced to live face-to-face with those he perceived as "the enemy," a confrontation that reveals a deep inner conflict in the young Brendan and forces a self-examination that is both traumatic and revealing. Events take an unexpected turn and Brendan is thrown into a complete spin. In the emotional vortex, he finally faces up to the truth.

Cast & Characters

Shawn Hatosy as Brendan Behan;
Danny Dyer as Charlie Milwall;
Lee Ingleby as Dale;
Robin Laing as Jock;
Eva Birthistle as Liz Joyce;
Michael York as Joyce;
Mark Huberman as Mac;
Jim Byrne as Parson;
Garret Deady as Borstal Boy;
Darren Donohue as Borstal Boy;
Ronnie Drew as Customs Man;
William Fitzpatrick as Borstal Boy;
Luke Griffin as Miller;
Trevor Hanly as Soldier;
Lukas Hassel as Hassel