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MOVIES / IN THEATERS / BOY A
Boy A

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Boy A (2008)

83%
90%
75%
N/A
N/A
83 %
Reviews Counted: 24 Fresh: 20  Rotten:4 Average Rating: 7/10
 
Consensus: Small in scale but large in impact, Boy A's career making performances (particularly that by star Andrew Garfield) and carefully crafted characters defy judgment and aggressively provoke debate.
 

How does the Tomatometer work?

The Tomatometer measures the percentage of positive reviews from Approved Tomatometer Critics for a certain movie.[-]

Rated: R

Runtime: 1 hr 39 mins

Theatrical Release: Jul 23, 2008 Limited

Synopsis: Based on the award winning novel of the same name by Jonathan Trigell, Jack (Andrew Garfield) is released from prison at the age of 24, having been institutionalized for most of his life after he and another boy murdered a child, when they were themselves children. The film follows Jack's... Based on the award winning novel of the same name by Jonathan Trigell, Jack (Andrew Garfield) is released from prison at the age of 24, having been institutionalized for most of his life after he and another boy murdered a child, when they were themselves children. The film follows Jack's difficult attempts to readjust to the world outside of confinement and restart a life which never really got going. Under the fatherly mentor- ship of Terry (Peter Mullan) his parole contact and social worker, he experiences a coming of age, which would normally have happened years ago. But forces from the past are constantly upon him, as we learn more about the events leading up to the crime which has ruined so many lives, there is an increasing sense of suspense, intrigue and ultimately doom: the tabloid press and Terry's real son are not going to let things lie. --© Warner Bros [More]

Genre: Dramas

Starring: Andrew Garfield, Peter Mullan, Shaun Evans, Siobhan Finneran, Katie Lyons

Director: John Crowley
Screenwriter: Mark O'Rowe
Producer: Nick Marston, Tally Garner, Lynn Horsford
Composer: Paddy Cunneen

Reviews

 
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Ratings Image
N/A

A small, huge film about the harsh realities of rehabilitation, and the shimmering possibility of redemption.

Full Review | comment Comment
07/25/08
Joe Morgenstern
Wall Street Journal
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image
3/5

If Hitchcock had done a coming-of-age drama, it might have resembled this haunting, nervous, sad movie.

Full Review | comment Comment
07/25/08
Joe Neumaier
New York Daily News
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image
5/5

An absorbing, finely nuanced morality tale.

Full Review | comment Comment
07/25/08
Gary Goldstein
Los Angeles Times
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Ratings Image
3/4

Sensitive portrait of a young man's efforts to reintegrate into society after committing a horrible crime as a child.

Full Review | comment Comment
07/25/08
Bob Strauss
Los Angeles Daily News
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4/5

In director John Crowley's wrenching drama, "moving on" proves to be an illusion.

Full Review | comment Comment
07/25/08
Susan Green
Boxoffice Magazine
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4/6

Wisely, John Crowley embeds the mulling of social issues within a character study, albeit one that stylistically straddles Loachian realism and lad-movie flashiness.

Full Review | comment Comment
07/24/08
David Fear
Time Out New York
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N/A

Crowley, his cast and the script constantly reveal new layers to the characters, preventing simple labels like 'hero' or 'villain.' These people are all cringingly human.

Full Review | comment Comment
07/24/08
Ernest Hardy
L.A. Weekly
Ratings Image
4/5

Lovingly photographed, achingly romantic and memorably acted by Garfield in a breakout role, it's a small movie worthy of a large audience.

Full Review | comment Comment
07/24/08
Geoff Berkshire
Metromix.com
Ratings Image
8/10

Carefully calibrated to explore the solitariness of a character who cannot let himself be known ... Turns Boy A's very particular story into a scary, universal and wrenching social statement.

Full Review | comment Comment
07/24/08
Bob Mondello
NPR
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3/4

Boy A may follow an all-too schematic flashback structure, but the film is too brilliantly acted for that to really matter much.

Full Review | comment Comment
07/23/08
Ken Fox
TV Guide's Movie Guide
Ratings Image
4/5

An ingenuous 24-year-old man-child is at the center of John Crowley's wrenching melodrama Boy A.

Full Review | comment Comment
07/23/08
Stephen Holden
New York Times
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Ratings Image
2/4

Well-acted but familiar.

Full Review | comment Comment
07/23/08
Lou Lumenick
New York Post
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2.5/5

Even though the film is a narrative disappointment, it is possibly of interest for Garfield's performance.

Full Review | comment Comment
07/23/08
Christopher Campbell
Cinematical
Ratings Image
N/A

Boy A is so excessively mannered that the story’s human element (misunderstood youth, society’s indifference) is lost.

Full Review | comment 1 Comment
07/23/08
Armond White
New York Press
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3/5

The Manchester-set drama could be labeled as kitchen sink, but Crowley breaks free from that label.

Full Review | comment Comment
07/22/08
Kent Turner
Film-Forward.com
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3.5/5

an effective workout of genre mechanics

Full Review | comment Comment
07/22/08
Chris Cabin
Filmcritic.com
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N/A

This is another of those dead-kid dramas in which the terrible event is handled like a striptease -- tantalizing flashes until the climax.

Full Review | comment Comment
07/21/08
David Edelstein
New York Magazine
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B

Features a career-making performance by Andrew Garfield.

Full Review | comment Comment
07/16/08
Harvey S. Karten
Compuserve
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N/A

...Garfield presents an indelible portrait of a young man trying to figure out how to continue his life in the face of haunting secrets and a world that doesn't want to let him forget it.

Full Review | comment Comment
06/23/08
Chris Barsanti
Film Journal International
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4.5/5

One of the most gripping, thought provoking dramas ever to ponder crime and punishment.

Full Review | comment Comment
06/22/08
KJ Doughton
Film Threat
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