Boy A (film)
| Boy A | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | John Crowley |
| Produced by | Lynn Horsford |
| Written by |
Mark O'Rowe Jonathan Trigell (novel) |
| Starring |
Andrew Garfield Alfie Owen Katie Lyons Peter Mullan |
| Music by | Paddy Cunneen |
| Cinematography | Rob Hardy BSC |
| Edited by | Lucia Zucchetti |
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Production
company |
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| Distributed by | The Weinstein Company |
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Release date
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26 November 2007 |
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Running time
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106 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Box office | £765,577 |
Boy A is a 2007 British film adaptation of Jonathan Trigell's critically acclaimed novel of the same name. The film premiered at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival.
It is directed by John Crowley and stars Andrew Garfield (who won the 2008 Best Actor BAFTA TV Award for his performance), Peter Mullan, and Katie Lyons. The North American cinematic release was distributed by The Weinstein Company.
Andrew Garfield portrays Eric Wilson, Boy A. The film commences when Eric is released from either a secure unit or prison under the name Jack Burridge. His past is told through flashbacks.
Eric Wilson befriends Philip Craig, who is a troublemaker and rescues him from a group of bullies. It is later disclosed that Philip is the victim of rape perpetrated by his older brother. Philip gets into an argument with a girl from their school who comes across the two boys loitering in a park. She criticizes them and refers to them as "scum" when she witnesses Philip vandalising a park sign with a Stanley knife. Philip approaches her and starts slashing at her forearms with the knife. He grabs the girl and drags her under a bridge. When Philip drops the knife, Eric picks it up, and follows them under the bridge. The girl is killed, although the film shows neither who kills her nor how. Eric (dubbed as Boy A during the trial) and Philip are remanded into custody at secure units. Philip ends up dead, assumed to be suicide, but Eric believes that he may have been killed by youth offenders.
Eric is later released and is guided by rehabilitation worker Terry (Peter Mullan). Eric, shy and eager to be a good citizen again, builds up a new life under the name Jack Burridge. He finds a job, befriends his colleague Chris (Shaun Evans), falls in love with the office girl, Michelle (Katie Lyons), and rescues a little girl who would otherwise have died after a car crash. An article in a local newspaper portrays him as a hero and includes a picture of both boys in the story. Eric wants to be honest with Michelle and reveal his past, but Terry urges him not to do so because it is too dangerous. Terry is afraid that people may attack Eric because there is a reward of £20,000 for finding him. Terry argues that it is not dishonest because "Eric is history and Jack is a new person".
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