How to Cheat in the Leaving Certificate

This is a really nice piece of Irish crime filmmaking, albeit that the criminals are really school students. I once spoke with a woman on a train in Italy who was from Ireland about the Leaving Certificate and she said it was one of the most horrific experiences of her life, as this film attests.

The movie tells the story of a bunch of disillusioned students who think the system is wrong and some of them really have a point because their friend committed suicide under the pressure. They hope their efforts will appease his soul, or something. They hope to highlight what is wrong with the grading system and, as we watch the film, it becomes clear in Ireland they have it quite wrong. Screenwriters Graham Jones and Tadhg O'Higgins are to be credited for making this point - and with a lot of wit at that.

I really loved the fact that it was shot in black and white on old fashioned film by the looks of it and so is very much the gangster picture. It has a strange sense of irony running through it too. I guess it's a sense of irony or humour the creators developed while going through the Irish school system. Top marks!

Set in mid-90s Ireland, 'How To Cheat..' is an independent heist film bent on "taking on the system", which in this case is the department of education. The movie sees central character Fionn on the verge of being kicked out of school following a decline in his own academic performance, as well as his friend Cian committing suicide after being caught cheating in his leaving certificate exams. Assembling an ensemble team, masterminded by a journalist styling himself as a private detective, a plot is set in motion for Fionn to score top marks in the country then reveal how he went about it. This picture boasts a unique look to contemporary features of the time. Filmed in black and white with an oft-offbeat editing style, writer/director/producer Graham Jones uses a youth movement within an otherwise mature plotline boasting a fresh edge. Camera work is subtly innovative making even transitional scenes feel important.

Whilst at times sounding more like filler in place of dialogue or plot development, the soundtrack boasts fitting songs which capture moods that speak better than the characters themselves. Only so much depth goes into the main player's respective and collective stories, with critical tension points only gently explored. In fairness this ads to the film's mystique, leaving more questions than answers for the viewer.

Cameos come from film financer Chris De Burgh, Johnny Murphy of 'The Commitments' fame, among other local stars of day, 'How To Cheat..' requires at least one viewing per year as an unashamed pleasure. Its main strength is that its neither too long or short - saying all it has to say and getting out.

This film is VERY impressive for an Irish film. Take the time after you've seen it, and you'll realize that it makes many social comments; many of them valid. On the whole, very worthwhile. Sit down before you take your own leaving or A Levels and you'll feel very good after. Go rent now!

The film captures the many contradictions of Irish culture during the 1990s; the institutional doctrine buttressing capitalism, youth idealism listlessly adrift from organised counter-culture, and a middle class now finally assured of its privilege.

The concoction pits the film's motley protagonists against - ostensibly - the state education system, but as their folly unfolds we are called to question how the life-limiting assumptions made about them have little to do with the titular exam.