Review: ‘Boy A’ LAFF ’08

“The past does not equal the future” a character notes in Boy A, but it seems the past doesn’t have to repeat itself for it to still wreak its proper damages. Here is a story with the potential to be many things, but first and foremost about Jack, the boy of the film’s title who chooses a name for himself in the opening scene. Warm and giddily enthusiastic about everything in his surroundings, Jack in his current state is a far cry from his previous life as Erick, charged with the co-murder of a child as a boy himself and hidden away until his release as an adult. Moving forward with the help of his handler Terry, Jack gets set up with a job, a home and a new life, an attempt to wipe the slate clean on a early, troubled start in what is portrayed as a less than perfect environment for a child. However, as Jack’s confidence grows and he takes one trembling step after another into the light of day, the old ghosts are never far behind and redemption has a steeper price to be paid than he might have imagined.

The film takes on an observatory role for much of its running time, unraveling the secrets of Jack’s past as he builds on his current situation. He takes his first night out with friends as a free adult and experiences drugs, dancing and the possibilities of social interaction in one fell swoop. He meets a girl, Michelle, and the normal anxieties of asking a girl out are compounded by a hundred when there’s a dark secret to be hid. However, success is ultimately his, and for a long while the film finds its pacing in the rhythm of Jack’s growing life. He gets closer to Michelle, and his first sexual interactions are horribly awkward yet innately sweet. His handler Terry appears pleased with his progress, and sometimes we cut away to Terry trying to interact with his own estranged son, and the irony of guiding Jack to a new life while barely relating to his own flesh and blood. Sometimes we cut back to the past, catching only the smallest glimpses of the events that led up to Jack’s dark moment in history, the little subtleties of violence as an emotional outlet, and how he and his friend worked their way up to the unthinkable. It is very late in the film when we get the incident that brings all the hard work down, a single act of good charity from Jack that pushes his past into the open and unravels his carefully rebuilt surroundings even faster than it seemed possible.

Boy A has its best moments when it lingers on its subjects, such as a scene in the dance club where Jack moves through the crowds and the blur of the lights and the strangers around him. It serves the film’s themes of rediscovery and building hope to not be forced through these moments, and beautiful moments they admittedly are. The cinematography is gorgeous, successfully capturing much of the film in the aesthetic of a memory, full of warm glows and back-lit faces. However, when it comes down to business, the film’s climax is left wanting, untethered by the same free form spirit of the rest of the narrative and without the strength to cap things off in a meaningful way. The expectation of Jack’s life coming apart is present from the start, so when nothing much comes of it that has not already been anticipated, it’s somewhat anti-climatic. Further disappointing are the interactions of Jack’s so called friends, who abandon him immediately along with his girlfriend, apparently shocked into an attitude of complete distancing as soon as it even remotely becomes clear that Jack is not who he says he is. It is important to note that at least the performances are solid here, with great turns by both Peter Mullan as Terry and relatively newcomer Andrew Garfield playing Jack as a lost boy to whom everything in the world is a revelation unto itself. His endearing portrayal is key to being able to like a character with such dark roots. It’s good that the dramatic turns here stack up, because by the film’s end, it’s more or less all we have. No point particularly impressed upon us, other than a very pretty setup to the end, and the obvious note that the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

[rating: 3/5]