The History Boys (2006) ★★★★
I've heard a lot of positive stuff about this film and stage performance on which it is based. I understand why there is. I understand why there is so much love for the film because it is brilliantly written by Alan Bennett: the characters are wonderfully rich and the material is funny, engaging, and surprisingly gripping towards the end.
The performances are uniformly excellent and I was unsurprised to discover it was the same ensemble as the theatrical performance because the chemistry between the cast is tangible.
It's not the most cinematic of films, that's not a criticism – it's film with a few locations and what is important are the performances and dialogue. It is edited and directed with pace and a real sense of fun and verve – I'm very glad I recorded it when it was BBC Four and will probably buy the DVD or Blu-ray in the not too distant future.
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