83. Old Boys; movie review

OLD BOYS
Cert 12A
95 mins

BBFC advice: Contains infrequent strong language, moderate sex references

I went to a single-sex grammar school in which the masters wore gowns and called us by our surnames.
Those who were good at sport were recognised for being of star quality and everyone else was pretty much ignored.
Oh, and because girls didn't appear in our lives until the school went co-ed in our fourth year, most of us had no idea how to interact with the opposite sex.
In fact, I am still pretty hopeless but somehow I managed to charm Mrs W enough for her to spend the past 33 years with me.
This background explains why I had a soft spot for Toby MacDonald's Old Boys.
It stars Alex Lawther as a geeky type who is bullied by the sporting heroes of a very crusty public school where tradition outweighs common sense.

His only way of survival is to try to make an ally of one of the popular kids (Jonah Hauer-King) and he sees the opportunity to be a broker of a potential love match between him and the daughter (Pauline Etienne) of a French teacher (Denis Ménochet).
The girl in question has developed an infatuation for the cricket captain with the floppy hair but he doesn't have the required wit and artistic bent to respond to her love letters.
Therefore, he is forced to lean on Lawther's unlikely romance broker.
Old Boys is set in the 1980s and that gives it a nostalgic slant to add to its charm.
And it offers another example of Lawther growing into being one of the UK's most promising actors.
Last year, his performance was easily the best element of Freak Show and here he elevates this coming-of-age comedy.
Jonah-Hauer King plays the school hero with a dash of 'Tim Nice-But-Dim' while Etienne gives an apt outsider's appraisal of the crazy world of public schools.
And then there are the teachers who see the importance in nothing and nothing in the important.
It adds up to a gentle giggle which will particularly hit the mark for those who have been to so-called posh schools.

Reasons to watch: Charming coming-of-age movie
Reasons to avoid: Will be a little too twee for some

Laughs: Three
Jumps: None
Vomit: None
Nudity: None
Overall rating: 7/10

Did you know? There are approximately 500 boarding schools across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

The final word. Toby MacDonald: "The single-sex boarding school is a quintessentially British institution. Arcane places where boys are handed over by their parents to learn how to be men, conform. They are told they are great, going to be great and they believeit."

boys who run the country. They are told they are great, that they are going to be

great and they believe it.

places where boy.

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