Boy A (2007)
5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Tom Elce
Directed by John Crowley
Cast: Andrew Garfield, Peter Mullan, Siobhan Finneran, Alfie Owen,
Shaun Evans, Taylor Doherty, Skye Bennett, Josef Altin, Dudley Brewis,
Leigh Symonds, Maria Gough, Jeremy Swift, Katie Lyons, Anthony Lewis,
Helen Wilding, Steven Pacey, Iris Sharple
Rated: NR (MPAA), NR (BBFC)
Opens in NY, July 23

Adapted from the acclaimed novel by Jonathan Trigell, John Crowley's
rattling "Boy A" imagines the re-introduction into society process of
a child murderer. Released from a prison sentence for murdering,
alongside delinquent friend Philip (Taylor Doherty), a young girl when
he himself was a boy, Eric Wilson (Andrew Garfield) is given the new
name of Jack Burridge, accomodation to lodge in and a job, though no
one around him knows the truth of his crime besides social worker and
parole contact Terry (Peter Mullan).

The film focuses on Jack grappling with his own guilt and making a
place for himself in present-day society, complimented by flashbacks
to his troubled youth and, eventually, the murder that put him behind
bars. Yet Crowley's film doesn't attempt to explain away his crime
through portrayal of his dysfunctional childhood so much as he
concludes it contributes slightly to the brutal crime Jack eventually
commits. Nor does he necessarily show forgiveness for Jack's actions,
sympathising with his turmoil moreso because his remorse is genuine,
but still not excusing what he did. Notably, it is Jack (then played
by Alfie Owen) who picks up the pen knife used in the murder off of
the ground.

Jack's fledgling relationship with co-worker Michelle (Katie Lyons) is
one of the film's most sensitive elements, weaving an everyday love
story from it that naturally comes without the girl knowing of her new
boyfriend's past. Whether this all comes out or not has mostly been
given away in the promotional trailers that have sprouted up in the
past few weeks, though that doesn't necessarily mean there isn't
anything there to find refreshing. A meeting between the pair at the
film's conclusion - which might or might not be the product of Jack's
imagination - is lovely but doesn't dispense of Jack's hopelessness
for a life that he knows has again gone into freefall.

Crowley says a lot about Jack's guilt and feelings of unworthiness
throughout without ever turning the material into a trite slideshow of
"I don't deserve this" garbage. He doesn't linger on the lead
character's hang-ups so much as he allows them to naturally evolve out
of the situations he finds himself in once back into the free world.
Jack manages to enjoy himself and begins to carve himself a place in
society, going out clubbing with his new mates and stopping over at
Michelle's house like any other adult in a romantic relationship. That
some of the flashbacks to his troubled past are introduced when they
seem farthest from his mind is key to Crowley's approach: as Jack
steps out of his bubble we're pulled into it, given the opportunity to
judge him whenever he appears to be affording himself some fleeting
forgiveness.

Andrew Garfield is brilliant, haunting as Jack, an emotive and
immensely gifted young actor for whom "Boy A" could be the breakout
turn were it not so suffocated by the boundaries of what distributors
consider arthouse exclusives. His performance deserves to be seen for
he ultimately makes the film what it is, occupying the majority of the
scenes and outshining even capable supporting plays as Peter Mullan,
himself a tragic sort of figure whose relationship with his grown-up
son inextricably impacts on Jack's new life, and Shaun Evans, a fine
young Brit actor in his own right given a little meat to work with as
Jack's new best friend Chris. Especially so in a scene where he and
Jack come across a crashed car that has veered off the roads and into
roadside trees.

Low-key but with great aspirations, "Boy A" achieves its own personal
goal of imagining what existence must be like for a felon whose own
life might be endanger through vengeful witnesses to his childhood
story. Echoes of the James Bulger case, in which the toddler was
tortured and murdered by two ten-year-old boys, and also that of Mary
Bell, another child killer, are unavoidable given the subject matter,
though "Boy A" has more about it than simply contributing an argument
to whether those three released murderers should have the anonymity
they now "enjoy" in the real world.

No, the intention of "Boy A" is to leave a lasting impression on the
audience, themselves standing as participants in the analysis of this
scared young man. Whether Jack's freedom should be allowed or not is
an argumentative point, for sure, but Crowley's film succeeds simply
by not spelling everything out and coming up with a definite solution.
This is not a film about politics, it's a film about a person (or,
more likely, people in general), avoiding the cry for witch burning as
well as the cry for forgiveness and excelling sheerly in portrayal.