THE BOYS
(1997)
Director: Rowan Woods
Cast: David Wenham, Toni Collette, Lynette Curran,
John Polson, Jeanette Cronin, Anthony Hayes,
Anna Lise, Pete Smith
Screenplay: Stephen Sewell (based on the original
Play by Gordon Graham
Producers: Robert Connolly and John Maynard
Cinematographer: Tristan Milani
Music: The Necks
Production Design: Luigi Pittorino
Editor: Nick Meyers
Production Company: Arena Films in association with
The Australian Film Commission
Distributor: Globe
Release Dates
Australia: 7 May 1998
USA: 15 October 1999 (limited release)
UK: 11 December 1998
Germany: 19 February 1998 (Berlin International Film Festival)
29 July 1999 (limited release)
Japan: 28 October 2000 (Tokyo only)
France: 6 March 2002 (TV presentation)
(From http://us.imdb.com)
Interviews and Reviews
http://www.urbancinefile.com
Interview with David Wenham
Reviews from Andrew L. Urban, Louise Keller, Paul Fischer and
David Stratton from Variety
http://boxoffice.com
Review by Charles Martin
http://nytimes.com
Review by Anita Gates
http://eFilmCritic.com
Review by Melissa Bolliger
http://iig.com
Review
http://rottentomatoes.com
Review by Denise Schwartz
http://apolloguide.com
Review by Ryan Cracknell
http://us.imdb.com
All above reviews
Awards The Boys was nominated for and won
Filmographies of the director, writer, stars
http://movies.yahoo.com
Reviews by various people
Connors, Nellie. "The Most Disturbing Film Ever Made." JUICE magazine. Darlinghurst, NSW: Terraplane Press, June 1998, Issue 65, pp 84-87.
Article and interviews with filmmaker and stars
Rees, Caroline. "The Boys." Empire the Movie Magazine. London: EMAP METRO, January 1999, Issue115, p 26.
Review
Collecting Information
Collecting information involved first watching the film to get an idea of what sort of film I was dealing with, then searching on the internet as that is the easiest way to find information nowadays, and then searching by hand through magazines. As the film was small and considered an "indie" film, finding information on it was not as simple as typing in the title and being bombarded with websites. The first thing I did was go to urbancinefile.com while it was free to do so and find out as much as I could from there. I found reviews, a synopsis, plot outline, an interview with David Wenham and the Australian box office figure, though once a film drops out of the top 20 the figures were not available. I entered "The Boys" into the Google search engine, but it came up with irrelevant searches, so I narrowed the search to "The Boys movie" and it came up with sites including Bad Boys, Sorority Boys and Wonder Boys. So, ignoring that I went to IMDb.com (a site that had been mentioned in the lecture and again by a friend) and gained a majority of information from there thanks to numerous links to endless information. I also entered Rowan Woods, Stephen Sewell and David Wenham's names into the Google search engine to retrieve extra information, though most sites listed were those indicated by IMDb.com that I had already seen. Once I knew the release dates in each country I checked my collection of movie magazines (Empire, Total Film, Premiere and Juice) for reviews but only came up with two. Because the movie was a small one with a limited release in most countries information was scarce, and mostly presented itself in form of reviews.
Movie Image
The Boys was a disturbing movie that left me unnerved and shaken. Information was scarce on it apart from reviews, opinions ranged from "A chilling, corrosive depiction of the banality of evil" (David Stratton) to "short on substance and long on inertia" (Denise Schwartz). First I will give a brief synopsis of the film and then outline the plot in detail; I will then give my review and thoughts on the film. The essay will then discuss the films box office, release, critics reviews and awards it received, I will then discuss its place in the international market and why it did better in Australia, then relate the film to the filmmaker's previous work and finally state that The Boys is an amazing film that leaves you with a sick feeling in the pit of your stomach. I could have kept writing as there is so much to say on this film, but I'll leave it there.
Synopsis: When Brett (Wenham) returns home from spending a year in jail for without a single visit from his family, he discovers that things aren't as they used to be. He attempts to regain the position of the dominant male in the household. His brother Glenn (Polson) has a real job and a respectable wife, Stevie (Hayes) has a live-in "girlfriend" Nola (Lise) whom he got pregnant, his mother Sandra (Curran) has an "Abo" boyfriend, George, and Brett is constantly accusing his girlfriend Michelle (Collette) of having cheated on him. As he delves deeper into his own self destruction, he removes the respective women from the picture and leads his brothers into a dangerous game that ends in a night of brutality.
Brett is picked up from the jail's gate by his brother Stevie; he carries with him a wooden coffee table he made while behind bars. He returns home to his mother's delight, and gives her the coffee table. She stares at it blankly, unable to render a response. His girlfriend, Michelle, anxiously waits for Brett to sleep with her, she imagines he would be begging for it, but he strings her along and accuses her of being unfaithful. Stevie's pregnant "girlfriend" Nola wanders aimlessly around the house uncomfortably, and afraid. Brett discovers his drug stash has gone and accuses Michelle and then Stevie of taking it, both deny having known about it. Flash forward to eighteen hours later, Brett is burning his clothes in the backyard and is then violently arrested by the cops. Present day: his other brother Glenn shows up with his "fancy" car and girlfriend, Jackie, who insists they don't stay long as they have to go to work. As the brothers continue to "catch up", the women become more and more agitated. Flash forward to two days later, Glenn and Stevie are escorted into the police cars. Present day: after Jackie's endless attempts to convince Glenn to leave, Brett accuses her of feeling superior and too good for them. She confronts him and explains how her whole family believes she is above them as a family, and how she wishes Glenn would stay away from them. She storms off, leaving Glenn behind. Brett begins to get the feeling that they were all better off without him, and that's why no one visited him, they were too busy living. As the brothers continue drinking, Brett takes them back to the scene of his crime, a liquor store that he held up and ended up serving time for causing grievous bodily harm to the owner. Breaking his parole on his first day out, he threatens the owner once more and leaves with a smirk on his face. After a visit from the police, flash forward three weeks and George is comforting a distraught Sandra. Present day: after lunch and more consumption of beer, Nola tells Michelle and Sandra that she wants to leave. She breaks down and explains that she's afraid, Stevie wishes her good riddance and Brett comforts her. Michelle confronts Brett about his lies and he finally initiates sex as she becomes infuriated with him. They venture out to the shed and begin, but Brett is unable to perform, so Michelle accuses him of having "taken it up the arse" in prison. Brett unleashes furiously at her and while yelling at her, he violently bashes her head against the asbestos wall breaking it to pieces before she manages to get away. She storms off and leaves him for good. Flash forward to six months later, Brett calls his mum and asks her to visit him along with Michelle whom he believes will provide him with an alibi. Sandra goes to Michelle, but she doesn't answer the door. Present day: another visit from the cops follows as it turns out that Nola called the police while hearing Michelle's screams. Sandra yells at the boys, and Jackie shows up though refuses to go inside. Glenn goes to talk to her, she asks him to stop seeing his brothers for her, he refuses and she breaks up with him and drives away. Nola disappears after Brett discovers she was the one who rang the police. As a result of a conversation had earlier with Michelle Sandra finally gets the guts to confront her sons and tell them what she really thinks of them, she once again unleashes her frustration with the boys telling them to get out. When they start to verbally abuse her back, her boyfriend George steps in to defend her. The boys are far from intimidated by George, and while constantly calling him "Abo" they bash him in their mum's kitchen. Flash forward to one day before the trial, Sandra visits Brett and hands him a letter Michelle wrote him. He realizes Michelle's not going to save him, he has no alibi. Present day: The boys reach a stage of drunken and drug induced (Stevie and Glenn are both tripping) haze that sees them drive off in search of trouble. Flash forward to the day of sentencing, the three brothers are escorted into the courtroom. Present day: They intend to pay the liquor store another visit but it ends up being closed, on their drive they pass Nola hitchhiking but Stevie believes he's just wasted and he didn't really see her. They finally stop opposite a bus stop where a young girl is waiting; they stare at her and discuss the world. Brett puts out his cigarette and says, "Let's get her."
As quoted by David Wenham, The Boys was "never about THE CRIME, but the events leading up to it." (http://www.urbancinefile.com ) What made the film so disturbing is that the attack was unprovoked, unmotivated, it was just something they decided to do after a long day. That the film's plot spans only a day makes the transformation from lay about thugs to murderers even more unnerving. The Boys is one of those films that use flash forwards to keep you interested in the events unfolding, but as I was watching it I was waiting for the flashes to be explained to me but they never were. You understand that they do something to this girl, but you are left to imagine the actual crime yourself, leaving the viewer to imagine something more horrendous than could have been shown on screen by the filmmaker. When I first watched it, it didn't really occur to me what I had just seen, while watching it I actually sat there anxiously awaiting the action to begin, thinking it was just around the corner. It wasn't until after watching it, reading some more reviews and interviews and actually thinking about it did it occur to me how messed up and disturbing it actually was. It was the article and interviews in the Juice magazine that shed the most light on the subject matter. It was from there that I came to understand what had happened once the credits rolled, that they had raped and murdered a young woman. The film had a deep psychological effect, as they were such everyday guys it seemed so real, so plausible hardly far from occurring in today's society. That is what made it frightening, that this does happen. "It could be ANYWHERE, anytime. It could be ANYONE at all." (The Bulletin, quote from video cover) The play was apparently inspired by the real life abduction, torture, rape and murder of Nurse Anita Cobby. Though the film never shows the horrendous crime they commit, it just hints at it and leaves you to imagine it yourself. It offers no actual motivation for what the brothers do, nor does it show any type of remorse in the flash forwards, nor does it offer any sort of explanation. As all involved in the film believe, it's a complex film. David Wenham explains, "It was never going to be a simplistic cause and effect film. Hopefully that will be the success of the film - the fact that you can't say, 'Ah yes, it's because of that.' The film is so complex. It's a combination of social, economic and psychological factors. How big a factor does Brett's impotence play in the situation, or that these boys grew up with one parent? There are so many different factors." (Juice Magazine) What this brought to mind was that Brett being unable to perform with Michelle left him with a need to prove himself as a man, perhaps which was a reason for what they do. I'm not saying that is the reason, as Wenham said, there is no one reason; I'm merely pointing one out.
The Boys had quite a limited release in the US, UK and other countries, and it didn't do terribly well here either. It debuted in fourteenth place and after 6 weeks it dropped out of the top 20. From what I could find it only grossed around US$2930, and AUS$528 545, its Australian takings were quite substantial for a small movie. This doesn't mean it didn't make an impact. After all the reviews I read only a few had anything bad to say about it. One American reviewer said the thick Australian accents made it hard to understand, but apart from that, the critics raved about it. Some words used to describe it included: gritty, powerful, dynamic, disturbing, chilling, observant, draining and compulsive viewing. Some critics compared the film to the likes of Romper Stomper and even the US Nazi film, American History X. The realism of the whole situation is what made the film so powerful. The characters were so average. Another reviewer likened it to Idiot Box, saying that "The Boys sets out to achieve [what] has already been done (in a much more enticing and palatable form) in Idiot Box." (Bolliger, http://eFilmCritic.com) But apart from the characters being lazy, no hopers, the comparison to Idiot Box seems a little confusing. The crime in Idiot Box is planned, has a motivation and is in no way meant to hurt anyone physically, whereas in The Boys they set out somewhat unmotivated to physically hurt someone. When their first attempt, the liquor store owner, is halted they seek violence in another form. Plus, I saw Idiot Box as a comedy without a funny ending; I didn't laugh nor smile once while watching The Boys. As the film was a small "art house" film, to encourage people to see it publicity relied mainly on Toni Collette's star status. She was brilliant in it, though disappeared about half way through, but because of her star turn in films like Muriel's Wedding her face appeared on the movie poster and video covers. The Boys was nominated for numerous awards throughout the industry and it managed to walk away with: AFI's for Rowan Woods (Best Achievement in Direction), Toni Collette (Best Supporting Actress), John Polson (Best Supporting Actor), and Stephen Sewell (Best Adapted Screenplay), an Australian Screen Sound Guild Award for Best Achievement in Location Recording for a Feature Film, Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards for Rowan Woods (Best Director), Lynette Curran (Best Supporting Actress), Stephen Sewell (Best Adapted Screenplay) and Best Film and it tied with Head On to win the Reader's Award for Favourite Australian Film. Not to mention Rowan Woods' nomination at the Berlin International Film Festival for the Golden Berlin Bear.
The Boys was critically acclaimed and as with most small Australian films, was appreciated the most in its home country. As Australia is a national cinema it has difficulty maintaining a place in the international market, Australian cinema has "the problems of both its own distinctiveness and its own capacity to pass for being American and British." (Tom O'Regan from lecture notes) Australian films that do well in the international market are those that follow the Hollywood formula, but have an added Australian "quirkiness". The camp Priscilla Queen of the Desert, the outrageous Muriel's Wedding, the Aussie stereotype Crocodile Dundee, and the reinvention of the musical in Moulin Rouge, these are the types of movies that have been internationally embraced. The Boys depicted the dark side of the Australian suburbs and did not try to appeal to an international audience in any particular way, the film wanted to be appreciated for what it was. The Boys was a movie I had always heard about as being very violent but in fact it's not, The Boys falls somewhat into the same category as Mad Max. Mad Max is considered a very violent film, whereas most of the actual violence doesn't occur on screen it is just hinted at for the audience to envision themselves, similarly, The Boys rarely shows actual violence, just hints at it. Both of these films are considered violent when in actual fact it is their refusal to show the violence that leaves a greater impact. Unlike Mad Max, The Boys did not do well in the Hollywood cinemas though was praised by critics. It was a film of the nineties that was part of the film multiculturalism at the time; it fell into the category of films with an "urban edge".
The Boys was the feature film directorial debut of Rowan Woods, before it he had only directed short films, mini series and TV shows. He directed shows such as Medivac, Police Rescue, Heartbreak High and numerous episodes of Farscape. His involvement in the Farscape series has been the bulk of his directorial work. He has worked as an actor in movies such as: Children of the Revolution (1996), The Roly Poly Man (1994), Resistance (1992), Compo (1988) and guest starred on an episode of Police Rescue. He was also the Second unit Director on the film Chopper (2000). As he has worked mostly in Science Fiction TV, The Boys is an amazing effort as the characters are so real and dark, unlike the bright atmosphere of Farscape. The lead actors of the film, David Wenham and Toni Collette have played a wide variety of characters. David Wenham was probably best known for his role as Diver Dan in the ABC's Seachange. He went on to make films such as Better than Sex, to an unrecognizable role as Audrey in Moulin Rouge, and most recently as Faramir in Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. Toni Collette, after breaking through as the lead in Muriel's Wedding she has gone on to not only have a successful Australian movie career, but a Hollywood movie career and an Oscar nomination. She has starred in films such as: The Sixth Sense, Emma, Cosi, Dirty Deeds and Changing Lanes. Toni Collette has proved herself as being an amazing actress with immense versatility. She often, as does fellow actor Guy Pearce, likes to take a break from Hollywood and come home to make an Australian film.
The Boys is an amazing film, although while watching it I didn't find it all that good, after reading reviews and interviews with the filmmakers the whole story came into focus. In the span of a day the three brothers not only destroy all their relationships with their girlfriends, they commit a horrendous crime, one that wasn't exactly clear until I read the articles. The film offers no one motivation for the crime, nor does it attempt to explain itself, it relies purely on the psychology of the situation and the effect it will have on the audience. The film was praised by critics as powerful and disturbing, though was appreciated more so in Australia as opposed to the US, but won several awards in Australia and was nominated at The Berlin International Film Festival. As a directorial debut from Rowan Woods, The Boys is one of those films that prove Australia is capable of brilliant films without all the fluff. It greatly disturbs you when you look back at what you have just seen, the violence is nothing; it is psychological impact it has on you that leaves you disturbed and frightened. The tagline explains it best, "Little we know or imagine can prepare us for the fierce and punishing impact of ...the boys." (From video cover)
References
Connors, Nellie. "The Most Disturbing Film Ever Made." JUICE magazine. Darlinghurst, NSW: Terraplane Press, June 1998, Issue 65, pp 84-87.
Rees, Caroline. "The Boys." Empire the Movie Magazine. London: EMAP METRO, January 1999, Issue115, p 26.
http://www.urbancinefile.com
http://boxoffice.com
http://us.imdb.com
http://nytimes.com
http://eFilmCritic.com
http://iig.com
http://rottentomatoes.com
http://apolloguide.com
http://movies.yahoo.com