Boy A

I've been thinking for a while that after Hollywood stops trying to reinvent itself or more like cannibalizing itself by going back and remaking classics, mostly ruining classics, they should just look at the news, the really news, stop idolizing and picking on their own, and see what tragic or wonderful world, it can be. "Boy A" is a perfect example of what happens when the media gets a hold of a spectacular story, one that might be tragic or devastating, but it still offers enough drama to cast a spell on us. Write a good book about it ("In Cold Blood" comes to mind), adapt it into a couple of decent films, and you can certainly catch fire.

"Boy A" explores an obscure case in America, but apparently a very famous one in England, telling the story of a released convict who might have more than a few problems adapting back to society. It is essential that his identity remain secret because the consequences can be horrendous for all parties involved.

The audience's main concern at first appear to be whether the main character has been rehabilitated and is able to deal with his new freedom. Garfield's performance is so good, it brings to mind the vulnerability shown by Timothy Hutton in "Ordinary People", that of a bruised soul that is very strong but also quite close to an emotional collapse if not nurtured properly. Garfield's character is damaged from his early life to the abuse he suffers at the hand of his childhood friend, the one that eventually gets him in jail. It is not very clear how responsible he is for the crime that eventually incarcerated him, but what is clear is that he needs a lot of support, and any interference will be catastrophic.

In the end, we know there has to be some type of revelation, and it is the degree of the pain that the revelation brings that we want to see and we dread all the time. We grow to like this young man. Maybe because he might not be very different from many in our world, maybe because he is another victim of a cold and fractured society. The film will open wounds in many who have been disappointed and hurt, and it will mostly teach a few people a lesson about what we can do to prevent any more tragedies like these from occurring again.

It is an admirable achievement.

A young man (Andrew Garfield) is released from prison with a new identity Jack Burridge. He tells his coworker Chris that he stole cars for joyriding. He is guided by Terry (Peter Mullan) in his rehabilitation as he reacclimatizes to the normal world. Terry has a troubled son of his own. Michelle (Katie Lyons) from work takes an interest in Jack. Jack and Chris come across a crashed car and save a little girl which becomes big local news. Eric Wilson is a young boy who is befriended by violent volatile Philip Craig. They skip school and start doing petty crimes. After murdering a girl, Eric is named Boy A in the trial.

His secret identity is revealed midway through the movie. I would have preferred it earlier so that the audience can appreciate Jack's inner conflict. A small part of the brutal attack should be in the opening without revealing the main culpability. It should shock the audience just like it did to Jack. The movie should be more definitive. Andrew Garfield is great. He has the looks of the boy next door but also is able to portray a troubled soul. He shows his great acting potential.

The Christian author Lewis B. Smedes once said that, "to forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you." John Crowley's Boy A is a powerfully gripping film about what happens when we fail to forgive ourselves for wrongdoing and give society the opening to move in and assuage our guilt. Jack Burridge (Andrew Garfield) has been released from prison after serving fourteen years for a murder that he helped commit when he was ten years old, but the struggle to recover his life has just begun.

Adapted by Mark O'Rowe from the novel by Jonathan Trigell, the story is a reminder of the notorious 1993 Jamie Bulger case when two ten-year-olds were convicted of murdering Jamie Bulger, aged two, although Trigell says that his inspiration for the book was a friend of his who served prison time as a juvenile and turned into "a lovely lad." In the Bulger case, the British media portrayed the two boys as evil savages, ignoring circumstances that might have compelled them to commit the act. Sadly, Jack's release is also trumpeted in the media with a scare headline about "evil coming of age" and a drawing of how he might look today.

Known at their trial only as Boy A and Boy B, both Jack (whose given name was Eric Wilson) and his friend Phillip (Taylor Doherty) were incarcerated for the brutal murder of a young female classmate, yet the full details of the crime including what may or may not have been Jack's role are never fully explained and the surrounding circumstances revealed only in sporadic flashbacks. We learn that both boys had a childhood of poverty and neglect. Eric had an alcoholic father and a mother stricken with cancer and Philip was sexually abused by an older brother, yet Crowley never uses their circumstances to justify their crime.

The film opens with Jack being assisted by his counselor, his uncle Terry (Peter Mullan), on his release from prison. Terry gives him a present of a pair of "Escape" brand sneakers and helps him to find a new job at a delivery service and obtain living accommodations with Kelly (Siobhan Finneran), a kindly woman who agrees to house him temporarily. As a cover, he tells his new boss and co-worker Chris (Shaun Evans) that he did three stints in prison for stealing cars when he was much younger. Jack makes a positive adjustment at work and falls for office secretary Michelle (Katie Lyons), known affectionately by her mates as 'The White Whale". Their relationship at first is awkward, especially when Jack is given Ecstasy at an office party and lets loose in a wild, spasmodic dance, and later, engages in a violent brawl while coming to the aid of a friend.

Slowly Jack and Michelle find much in common and one of the loveliest scenes in the film is when they snap photos of each others while taking a bath together. As Jack begins to get his life together, he remains fully aware of the need to guard his secret and his anxiety that others will discover it is always evident. All the while, Jack is supported by Terry, and when the boy rescues the victim of a car accident to become a local hero, Terry calls him his "most successful achievement." Things get complicated, however, when Terry's estranged son (James Young) comes to live with him and begins to show resentment about his father's closeness to Jack. Eventually this entanglement will be the trigger for the realization of Jack's (and our) deepest fears.

Boy A is a compassionate and disturbing film that won numerous BAFTA awards for acting, directing, editing, and cinematography, though it started out as a made for TV movie. As Jack, Andrew Garfield turns in a superb performance, allowing his face to reveal his vulnerability and his changing moods to reveal the tightrope on which he is walking. Though the film has moments of pathos, it is not without grace. We cling tenaciously to those moments of transcendence, sensing that they might be fleeting, but knowing that they will never be forgotten.

This is a real gift. It's a gift in the times when Hollywood bombing us with an enormous amount of bad movies,and it's a gift of acting, specially the acting of Andrew Garfield. IMHO,the movie absolutely deserved every award and nomination. So,I give nine stars,not because we have another classic, but because it shows to Hollywood how to make a good movie.

P.S.

It is not necessary to write a bible about this movie. To much talking about a plot will make it less interesting for the spectator and that no one wants.

A young man is released from prison after being incarcerated since he was a child. His attempts to adjust to the outside world aren't always successful.

This isn't a feel good movie about a struggle for redemption or the effects of rehabilitation. This is a dark, gritty and realistic view of how things could be for a person newly released after a horrible crime.

There isn't a lot of graphic bloodshed; most of that is implied instead of being played for shock value. That's good; this movie doesn't need any more shock value than is already portrayed. You aren't particularly encouraged to sympathize with the ex-con, nor are you encouraged to condemn him. Instead the film makes you an objective observer to his trials and tribulations, his attempts to get into society with as little trouble as possible, the reactions of people who know and work with him.