The History Boys
2006 · Directed by Nicholas Hytner
Original language: English
- drama
The story
The story of an unruly class of bright, funny history students at a Yorkshire grammar school in pursuit of an undergraduate place at Oxford or Cambridge. Bounced between their maverick English master, a young and shrewd teacher hired to up their test scores, a grossly out-numbered history teacher, and a headmaster obsessed with results, the boys attempt to pass.
What it’s like
Grey northern light through tall classroom windows, wood-panelled rooms and corridors of scuffed linoleum, and a palette of school-blazer navy and dusty ochre that makes the boys' bright chatter feel slightly overheated against the drab walls. The film keeps the stage-play bones of its origin: talky, carefully blocked scenes, actors held in medium shots, and the camera often settling into a classroom to let argument build. The score is sparse, with piano and the odd fragment of old song, so the quiet between jokes carries weight. The tone is warm and sharp, equal parts comedy and melancholy, with a steady undercurrent of unease as adult compromises come into view. Its emotional register is bittersweet, with a late, sudden death that lands hard after so much talk. Intensity is low on violence and gore, but there is a clear, unshown sexual misconduct by a teacher towards pupils, along with frank innuendo and adolescent sexual talk. It suits a rainy weekend or a reflective evening, and it is for people who enjoy witty, literate dialogue, ensemble performances and a bittersweet look at teenage ambition and the adults who shape it.
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