The History Boys film review

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THE HISTORY BOYS

Since debuting at the National Theatre in 2004, Alan Bennett's play has taken the world by storm, with a host of awards, critical plaudits and till receipts on both sides of the Atlantic. The inevitable film adaptation is directed by Nicholas Hytner, who took Bennett's Madness of King George to Oscar glory in 1995. But while this new collaboration is often hugely enjoyable in places, its sometimes confusing sexual politics may prevent Academy and BAFTA members from being quite so forthcoming in casting their votes.

Set in a boys' grammar school in the North of England during the mid-80s, Bennett's script concerns a group of unruly but hyper-intelligent sixth formers who are all attempting to pass the Oxbridge exam and gain a leg up into life's higher echelons. They are a splendidly motley group bursting with acerbic wit, and more likely to debate the merits of Proust over Sartre than the latest football results.

Part of the reason for their prodigious nature is their teacher, the avuncular Hector (Richard Griffiths), whose seemingly laissez-faire attitude to education gets up the nose of the Basil Fawlty-like headmaster (Clive Merrison). In an attempt to ensure that all of the candidates succeed, he enlists a young supply teacher (Stephen Campbell Moore) to help Hector, causing a predictable frisson of resentment from teacher and pupils alike.

The cast is largely comprised of the originals from the stage version, and they certainly deserved their many ensemble awards. The tones is initially kept light, and Hytner follows the Full Monty formula, with a low-tech approach that concentrates on characters and plot, as well as a soundtrack that belts out some of the 80s greatest English pop moments. A good deal of the film is simply hilarious, most notably an early scene conducted entirely in French.