The History Boys: The Film

Having just seen the National Theatre production of The History Boys, performed in Bennett's Leeds for the first time, I was disappointed. There are good one-liners and the potential for wit, irony and social criticism is well-crafted, but the setting is confusing. This is a late 1950s or early 1960s state grammar school scholarship class in the days of seventh-term entry to Oxbridge made to carry educational criticisms for the 1990s in language that would have been totally out of place fifty years ago. The irony is too heavy and the wit and delight in language for which Bennett is noted is lost beneath the dramatically unnecessary and misplaced splatter of four-letter words.

"History. It's just one [bloody] thing after another." (8/9 people found this helpful)

(3.5 stars) Set in the 1980s in a boarding school in the north of England, this film adaptation of Alan Bennett's play (which won six Tony Awards during its 2006 New York run), follows eight young "sixth-formers" who are preparing for the history entrance examinations for Oxford or Cambridge. To help the students prepare for the exams, the headmaster hires a young teacher, Irwin (Stephen Campbell Moore), to improve the students' "presentation" so that they will stand out from the crowd. Irwin's goal is to teach the students to think "outside the box"--not to be dull--when they answer examiners' questions.

His mission conflicts with the goals of the English and History teachers. Hector, the motor-cycle-riding English teacher (Richard Griffiths), has taught the students reams of poetry, along with the French subjunctive (though it is not his subject), having students practice their French by pretending to negotiate at a brothel. He takes the long view and values education for its own sake. The History teacher, Dorothy Lintott (Frances de la Tour), has taught the facts: "Plainly stated and properly organized facts need no presentation, surely," she remarks to the headmaster. The students' efforts to be accepted at Oxford drive the action.

The film features many of the same actors as did the stage play, notably the brilliant Griffiths as Hector, the sensitive Moore as Irwin, the tough-talking, heart-of-gold de la Tour as Dorothy Lintott, and the same eight students, joking, bantering with their teachers, and pursuing their favorite subject--sex. The film, however, is very different in tone from the play. In the play the conflict between the teachers and their views of education give depth and universality to strong themes and unite the action. In the film, this conflict is much less clear, with the themes largely subordinated to questions about sexual orientation by various students and their possible abuse by a teacher. Some characters (especially the headmaster, Clive Merrison) are caricatures, a contrast to the more realistically presented students.

In some ways the film is better than the play. The film shows the students within the context of a large school, and film close-ups make their emotional conflicts an intimate experience. Hector (Griffiths) is a far more sympathetic character in the film, due in large part to the close-ups, and Irwin has a more fully developed role. Unfortunately (and I'm not sure how universal this problem is), the film I saw (in a major theater chain), was fuzzy, with vertical black lines showing throughout the entire film, making it appear more like an 8 mm home movie than a major studio production. The film tries to take advantage of the broader possibilities of film vs. stage, but as the context broadens, the film becomes less unified, and the drama loses its punch. n Mary Whipple

"A question has a front door and a back door. Go in the back, or better still, the side." (28/33 people found this helpful)

Set in the 1980s in a boarding school in the north of England, this Tony Award-winner for Best Play of 2006 is a dramatic comedy in which eight young "sixth-formers" prepare for the history examinations which will determine whether they are accepted at Oxford or Cambridge. No one from their school has been accepted in the past, and the headmaster is determined that this year will be different. To this end, he hires a young teacher, Irwin, to improve the students' "presentation" so that they will stand out from the crowd with the college examiners. His goal is to teach the students to think "outside the box"--not to be dull--when they answer questions.

Irwin's mission conflicts with the goals of the English and History teachers. Hector, the motor-cycle-riding English teacher, has taught the students reams of poetry, and they readily apply it in real-life situations. He has taught the French subjunctive (though it is not his subject) by conducting the class in French and having students pretend to be negotiating at a brothel. His classes are free-wheeling, often student-directed--taking the long view and valuing education for its own sake. The History teacher, Dorothy Lintott, has taught the facts: "They know their stuff. Plainly stated and properly organized facts need no presentation, surely," she remarks to the headmaster.

As the three teachers and the headmaster perform their duties, the eight students react as teenagers everywhere react, albeit a bit more politely. They banter and feed off each other's joking remarks, tease their teachers, get bopped on the head by Hector, challenge him to identify scenes from films (which they act out), and explore their favorite subject, sex. They are bright, charming, and disingenuous, and their conversations with each other and the faculty are spirited and quick-paced, keeping the audience constantly engaged and often laughing uproariously.

Bennett, whose recognition of humor in everyday life has become more sophisticated in the years since Beyond the Fringe, balances his humor with thoughtful observations about education and its value, as he also explores the subject of war. He provides additional commentary on his themes by including brief scenes which take place much later than the primary action. The play opens fifteen years after the main action, then flashes back to school days, before flashing forward five years, later in the play, as students reveal what has happened after college, thereby broadening the scope. Laugh-out-loud funny, thoughtful, and poignant in its moments of recognition, The History Boys is theatre at its best. Mary Whipple

Stunning writing, a stellar cast, Alan Bennett at his best (16/17 people found this helpful)

I have seen the History Boys twice at the National Theatre, the first time with the cast that appears on this BBC CD recording. Bennett has produced a gem of a play, dark in places of course but full of light and shade especially when the ensemble cast are fully in their stride. The musical interludes are a joy and the CD version gives full rein to the superb Richard Griffiths. One can only really appreciate this play in full by experiencing the live version on stage. But for fans of Bennett, this beautifully crafted BBC radio production is one that will be taken from the CD rack on a regular basis for an evening's listening. Thoroughly recommended.

Faithful Audio Production (18/19 people found this helpful)

I saw The History Boys on their Australian tour and since it was sold out and I could not see it again I had to buy this audio version to satisfy my desire.
I'm not sure that all of the magic of the stage production is able to carry through to an audio play, but it is good listen anyway.
It is an incredibly witty piece of entertainment, thoroughly enjoyable, and reminded me so much of my own school memories of the all boys school I went to. The struggle between the two intelligent school teachers - Irwin and Hector - over the souls of the boys they teach could perhaps appear unlikely to those who missed out on having such teachers, but it reflects my experience as well. Bennett wavers (or seems to) between taking sides in their not unimportant dispute, but (or therefore?) is good enough of a writer or human being not to load the dice in the favour of one over the other.
More superficially: Samuel Barnett (my favourite) sings and acts wonderfully, all the boys are mischievously fun, and the cast is all round excellent.

The History Boys: The Film

Alan Bennett

Reader Reviews:

Tarnished wit (1/1 people found this helpful)

"History. It's just one [bloody] thing after another." (8/9 people found this helpful)

"A question has a front door and a back door. Go in the back, or better still, the side." (28/33 people found this helpful)

Stunning writing, a stellar cast, Alan Bennett at his best (16/17 people found this helpful)

Faithful Audio Production (18/19 people found this helpful)

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