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Boy A (film)

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Boy A
Film poster
Based onBoy A
by Jonathan Trigell
Screenplay byMark O'Rowe
Directed byJohn Crowley
Starring
Music byPaddy Cunneen
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
Production
Producers
  • Lynn Horsford
  • Nick Marston
  • Tally Garner
CinematographyRob Hardy
EditorLucia Zucchetti
Running time106 minutes
Production companies
Original release
NetworkChannel 4
Release26 November 2007 (2007-11-26)

Boy A is a 2007 British drama film directed by John Crowley, from a screenplay by Mark O'Rowe, based on the 2004 novel of the same name by Jonathan Trigell. The film stars Andrew Garfield in his film debut as Jack Burridge (né Eric Wilson), who is re-entering society under a new name in Manchester after having served 14 years in a Young Offender Institution; and Peter Mullan as Terry, Jack's caseworker. The novel is noted for similarities to the James Bulger case, whose offenders were released around the time of its publication.

Boy A had its world premiere at the 32nd Toronto International Film Festival on 8 September 2007.[1] It was released as a television film in the United Kingdom, airing on Channel 4 on 26 November 2007, and was theatrically released in the United States by The Weinstein Company on 23 July 2008. The film received generally positive reviews from critics, with Garfield winning a British Academy Television Award for his performance.

Plot

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Andrew Garfield portrays Eric Wilson. The film begins when Eric is released from a secure unit or prison under the name Jack Burridge. His past is told through flashbacks.

Eric Wilson befriends Philip Craig, who is a troublemaker and rescues him from a group of bullies. It is later disclosed that Philip had been raped by his older brother. Philip gets into an argument with a girl from their school who comes across the two boys loitering in a park. She criticizes them and refers to them as "scum" when she witnesses Philip vandalising a park sign with a Stanley knife. Philip approaches her and starts slashing at her forearms with the knife. He grabs the girl and drags her under a bridge. When Philip drops the knife, Eric picks it up, and follows them under the bridge. The girl is killed, although the film shows neither who kills her nor how. Eric (dubbed as Boy A during the trial) and Philip are remanded into custody at secure units. Philip ends up dead, assumed to be suicide, but Eric believes that he may have been killed by youth offenders.

Eric is later released and is guided by social worker Terry (Peter Mullan). Eric, shy and eager to be a good citizen again, builds up a new life under the name Jack Burridge. He finds a job, befriends his colleague Chris (Shaun Evans), falls in love with the office girl, Michelle (Katie Lyons), and rescues a little girl who would otherwise have died after a car crash. An article in a local newspaper portrays him as a hero and includes a picture of both boys in the story. Eric wants to be honest with Michelle and reveal his past, but Terry urges him not to do so because it is too dangerous. Terry is afraid that people may attack Eric because there is a reward of £20,000 for finding him. Terry argues that it is not dishonest because "Eric is history and Jack is a new person".

The rehabilitation worker is less satisfied with his own son. The son discovers Eric's true identity from newspaper articles about him being released, his new role as the hero and information he looks up without permission on his father's computer. Out of jealousy, he reveals this to the public and as a result, Eric loses his job and his best friend Chris distances himself from him. Michelle goes missing, and people suspect that Eric is somehow involved, though it is later revealed she has sequestered herself at home, devastated about the revelation that Jack is actually Eric.

Eric repeatedly tries to phone Terry but gets his voicemail. He flees from his home to avoid reporters and travels to Blackpool. There he meets (or imagines meeting) Michelle, who tells him she was not the one who revealed his past and would have eventually understood if he told her the truth, and then leaves. After saying farewell messages in voicemails to Terry and Chris, the film concludes with Eric standing over the edge of a pier.

Cast

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  • Andrew Garfield as Jack Burridge
    • Alfie Owen as Eric Wilson (young Jack Burridge)
  • Peter Mullan as Terry
  • Siobhan Finneran as Kelly
  • Victoria Brazier as Teacher
  • Skye Bennett as Angela
  • Madeleine Rakic-Platt as Schoolgirl
  • Josef Altin as Bully
  • Dudley Brewis as 2nd Bully
  • Leigh Symonds as Eric's Dad
  • Maria Gough as Eric's Mum
  • Taylor Doherty as Philip Craig
  • Jeremy Swift as Dave
  • Shaun Evans as Chris
  • Carlene Hanson as Waitress
  • Katie Lyons as Michelle
  • James Young as Zeb
  • Anthony Lewis as Steve
  • John Catterall as Man in Club
  • Tilly Vosburgh as Shopkeeper
  • Phil Rowson as Policeman
  • Luke Broughton as Policeman
  • Paul-Michael Giblin as Photographer
  • Helen Wilding as Carol
  • Steven Pacey as Prosecution Barrister

Reception

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Box office

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Boy A received a limited release in North America in 10 theatres and grossed $113,662. The film grossed $1,647,281 in other territories for a worldwide total of $1,760,943.[2]

Critical response

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On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, Boy A has an 88% rating based on 59 reviews. The website's consensus reads, "Small in scale but large in impact, Boy A's career making performances (particularly that by star Andrew Garfield) and carefully crafted characters defy judgment and aggressively provoke debate."[3] On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 75 out of 100, based on 22 critics.[4]

Stephen Holden of The New York Times called the film a "wrenching melodrama".[5] Wesley Morris of The Boston Globe praised Garfield's performance, writing that "the movie is worth seeing for Garfield".[6]

Awards and nominations

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Year Award Category Recipient(s) Result Ref.
2008 54th British Academy Television Awards Best Single Drama John Crowley
Lynn Horsford
Mark O'Rowe 		Nominated [7]
Best Actor Andrew Garfield Won
9th British Academy Television Craft Awards Best Director: Fiction John Crowley Won [8]
Best Breakthrough Talent Mark O'Rowe Nominated
Best Original Music Paddy Cunneen Nominated
Best Photography & Lighting: Fiction Rob Hardy Won
Best Editing: Fiction Lucia Zucchetti Won
Royal Television Society Programme Awards Single Drama Boy A Nominated [9]
Writing: Drama Mark O'Rowe Nominated
Actor: Male Andrew Garfield Nominated
Royal Television Society Craft & Design Awards Visual Effects - Picture Enhancement Aidan Farrell Nominated [10]

References

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  1. ^ "Toronto Film Festival: Final International Line-up". Variety. 15 August 2007. Archived from the original on 25 August 2007. Retrieved 22 August 2021 – via Wayback Machine.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  2. ^ "Boy A (2008)". The Numbers. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  3. ^ "Boy A". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  4. ^ "Boy A". Metacritic. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  5. ^ Holden, Stephen (23 July 2008). "Trying to Pay the Interest on His Debt to Society". The New York Times. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  6. ^ Morris, Wesley (8 August 2008). "'Boy A' considers crime and consequences". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  7. ^ "Television Awards Winners in 2008". British Academy of Film and Television Arts. 26 April 2008. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  8. ^ "Television Craft Awards Winners in 2008". British Academy of Film and Television Arts. 11 May 2008. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  9. ^ Guardian Staff (3 March 2008). "RTS Programme Award nominations". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
  10. ^ "CRAFT & DESIGN AWARDS 2008". Royal Television Society. 24 January 2011. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
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