Boy A

Been awhile since I've reviewed, mostly because I haven't seen much worth reviewing, but this little gem deserves your attention. Released in 2008, this brilliant film came to me from the blue... can't remember why I put it in queue, and when I got it I had no idea what it was about. Maybe that was the perfect way to approach the film, so I'll attempt to tease you without letting on too much.

The story opens with Jack (Andrew Garfield) choosing the name Jack. He and Terry (Peter Mullan) are constructing a life for Jack, and at this point we only know that Jack is twentysomething, incredibly innocent, and that Terry (social worker? parole officer?) is really adamant that they must memorize Jack's history and it must be perfect. Set up with a job and a room to live, Jack seems poorly up to the task; he seems so childlike - and flashbacks of his childhood are not happy. As we watch him come of age, finding friends and meeting a girl, we get the feeling something horrible is in his past... and that he won't escape it.

Andrew Garfield has a face that is as transparent as glass - every nuance of emotion is so raw there - that his Jack is heartbreaking. He is mesmerizing even in this rock solid cast. But the story stuck with me for days. This is the kind of film that leaves you full of questions about the morality of modern society and the hypocrisy of the standards by which we judge others. Dare you to watch this and not be changed by it. Dare you. If you want the whole story, see the website here.