Dartworth

I love teenage boy's Boarding School/Coming of Age films. I guess this came about because of early exposure to the brilliant performances of Parker Stevenson and John Heyl in the 1972 version of John Knowles' novel, "A Separate Peace" directed by Larry Peerce. This is the gold standard of the boarding school-coming of age genre. Through the years there have been many excellent examples of the genre: 1991's Toy Soldiers, 1992's School Ties, Scent of a Woman, Dead Poet's Society, all the way back to 1939's Goodbye Mr. Chips. Unfortunately, the marketing of Dartworth (as typified by the IMDb's plot summary by Melissa Veerhuis)makes the film sound considerably more intriguing and substantive than it turns out to be.

While the cast is attractive, the chemistry between the principle actors is very lacking. One might chalk this up to the milder reputation of Australian film, if it wasn't for the fact that Fred Schepisi directed the powerhouse 1976 Australian film, The Devil's Playground.

Dartworth is neither shocking, powerful or homoerotic which are essential elements in this film's genre. If you are interested in a contemporary boarding school/coming of age film, I strongly urge you rent or purchase the 2008 drama, Teenage Angst, directed by Thomas Stuber. You will have to deal with subtitles, but it is well worth your attention, whereas Dartworth is only a slight appetizer.