The History Boys a Brilliant Film of Alan Bennett’S Play About Eight Post-A Level Students Preparing for Oxbridge

Humani • No 101 • November-December 2006 FILM The History Boys A brilliant film of Alan Bennett’s play about eight post-A level students preparing for Oxbridge ILM CRITICS are a funny lot. minutes analysing a poem, in this case They spend years and moun- Thomas Hardy’s Drummer Hodge? Ftains of ink complaining about This beautiful scene highlights one of the dumbing down of the cinema, the great strengths of this brilliant film. It then along comes a film which in- is not afraid of discussing ideas. Landes- cludes serious discussions of history, man mocks this in his review. On the poetry, philosophy, art and life itself contrary, he says, the film is a perfect ex- – and they rubbish it for its implau- ample of dumbing down because it is so sibility and staginess. Unbelievable? dramatically inept, intellectually Heavens above! More implausible vacuous and morally glib. than, say, Star Wars or If, or The What hidden gems has he been watch- Wizard of Oz? Implausibility is al- ing recently? For the truth is quite the op- most obligatory if a film is to suc- posite: The History Boys is both intellec- ceed. Have these critics never heard tually exciting and morally serious. of ‘willing suspension of disbelief’? There are important questions being Stagey? Well, Casablanca takes gay men who will identify with the asked in Bennett’s work, especially about place largely in a night club and Brief circumstances of both teachers and education. It is presented as a battle for Encounter, which has a delightful pupils in this all-boys’ school and, as the hearts and minds of these Oxbridge moment in The History Boys, is set Hector says, the transmission of knowl- candidates. Of their three main teachers, in a train station! This is a movie edge is itself an erotic act. Isn’t this why Hector believes in truth and knowledge about education that is situated so many pupils, gay or straight, have for its own sake and in inspiring the stu- mostly in the classroom because, for crushes on their teachers? Here the dents by encouraging them to express a change, it’s actually about its sub- film’s honesty is actually a plea for sex- themselves. His is an essentially ject. Its ‘staginess’ is perfectly logi- ual and emotional liberation. humanist approach. cal. That’s good enough for me. Anyhow, there is much more to The Irwin, on the other hand, is an educa- One of the worst reviews was by History Boys than the question of sex tional Thatcherite/Blairite, believing in Cosmo Landesman in the Sunday (there is no observable sex in the film, pragmatic functionalism, in education as Times (15th October). He viewed the which has a 15 certificate). First of all, a contribution to GDP – all about image screenplay as ‘nothing more than the it is very funny and life-affirming, full or ‘spin’ rather than substance. Truth it- decadent fantasy of an ageing homo- of wit, charm and memorable set pieces. self is eminently malleable. So, if you sexual’. True, there is a fair amount In one hilarious scene in which Hector want to impress the examiners, think of homoeroticism on offer. Posner, gets the boys to improve their French by outside the box and tell them that Stalin one of the eight students (Samuel acting out a visit to a Paris brothel, was really a pussycat or that Hitler was Barnett), has a crush on cocky Dakin has his trousers off when the much misunderstood. lothario Dakin (Dominic Cooper). In headmaster suddenly enters, and they Irwin’s approach is basically the one scene he confesses to closet gay pretend that they are acting wounded bluffer’s guide to education, yet Landes- teacher Irwin (Stephen Campbell soldiers at the battle of Ypres. man suggests that it is ‘better’ because he Moore): “I’m a Jew. I’m small. I’m In other scenes we might be in the mu- is actually encouraging these young men homosexual, And I live in Sheffield. sic hall as the students perform Edith to think for themselves (he refers to these I’m fucked”. Piaf and Rodgers and Hart songs. Sam- 18-year-olds as ‘kids’). How wrong can Not only is this supply teacher gay uel Barnett’s rendition of Bewitched, you get, Cosmo! Don’t you know the dif- but so too is ‘Hector’ (Richard Bothered and Bewildered is fantastic. ference between superficial bluff and Griffiths), the boys’ adored General As Philip French noted in his perceptive depth? Freethought is not as facile as a Studies teacher, who feels them up Observer review, Posner is here sere- hen dropping an egg. It requires learning during pillion rides on his motorcy- nading Dakin, thus restoring the origi- and scholarship to back it up, as Mrs cle. Even Dakin offers the new nal gay intention of Hart’s lyrics. Films Lintott (Frances de la Tour), the third teacher sexual favours, all of which themselves also feature in this cultural teacher, knows only too well. Did leads Landesman to conclude that feast of a movie, as the boys act scenes Cosmo write the bluffer’s guide to film what we have here is a gay fantasy from Now, Voyager and the aforesaid reviewing, I wonder? (of course, it cannot be condemned for Brief Encounter. The History Boys has superb acting, a being both implausible and a gay So too do philosophers like Nietzsche brilliant script and unobtrusive directing fantasy at the same time). and Wittgenstein. And when did you by Nicholas Hytner. You can’t ask for Yet there are undoubtedly many last see a movie that spent about five more than that. Don’t miss it. BMcC 24.

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