Old Boys (2018) -
I actually only tuned in to this film because I thought that Amberson (Alex Lawther) was in love with Winchester (Jonah Hauer-King), not Agnes (Pauline Etienne). The description on TV was ambiguous and misleading. As far as I'm concerned, a love triangle should meet at all points of the shape or it's just a V!
It is however a sweet and quirky film, if a bit childish for a 12A. I think that it probably hits home more with an older generation because of the way that it's filmed. It's quite dark and gritty due to its 80's Boarding School setting, but the story is about teenagers which might only appeal to those of about 12-13 years, unless you are reliving your own Public School days.
As such it feels a bit confused. I'm an overgrown teenager, so I quite liked it, but I can't see it appealing to everyone else so easily.
I do think that it would have worked better if Winchester had been pretending to like Agnes to get closer to Amberson or the other way around, because it needed that extra something to it, in order to give it some more depth.
That's where the end seemed a bit daft, because of Amberson's final choice. It would have made more sense my way and the homosexual school romance is quite well documented. I suppose that's the reason that they didn't do it that way?
It's said to have a Cyrano de Bergerac type structure and it kind of does, but I think it could have been so much more and perhaps as a 15 it would have been freer to explore things and to deliver a more complicated story.
While Alex always plays the goofy part very well, it fits even more perfectly here. Jonah is also very good as the airhead jock and beautiful too.
I like the suggestions that the school is like a prison and the use of flip book animation is also very cleverly done to move scenes from one to another.
But the more films I see about Public Schools, the more I think that they are ridiculous. They are never shown in a good light and usually depicted as chaotic and full of bullies throughout the faculty and the students. I certainly wouldn't send my child to one so it could be treated like dirt and go through daft rituals in silly outfits. It's not character building, it's just cruel. We should be taught how to raise people up and support them, not put them down. Abolish the Hierarchy!!
The film was enjoyable and easy to watch though. It certainly doesn't require a lot of attention to follow it, but that was also part of its charm. It seems well edited and directed and the darkness of the setting and costume enforces the prison like dimension.
Worth checking out at least.
564.03/1000.
