Plot Details: This opinion reveals minor details about the movie's plot.

The History Boys (2006) Directed by Nicholas Hynter. Screenplay and original play by Alan Bennett.

Mrs. Lintott: And you, Rudge? How do you define history?
Rudge: Can I speak freely without being hit?
Mrs. Lintott: You have my protection.
Rudge: How do I define history? Well it's just one f*cking thing after another.

First, let me say that I loved this movie. I love it so much, I am so enamored with the witty dialogue, that I know I shall be tempted to screen the entire thing, and quote about half. Therefore I shall try to limit myself; one path is to not quote anything with profanity. It also gets by the censors. And I will tell you now, they do use profanity. They are schoolboys after all. If, as I already have, I use something that requires an * then it is important….or just incredibly funny.

The boys are the cream of their public school (That means Private school, here in the colonies) and the only candidates up for admission to Cambridge and Oxford. This means they will be returning for an extra year (13th grade) to prepare for the entrance exams. Yes, they are that brutal.

They have several excellent teachers…Hector and Mrs. Lintott, or “Tott” among them. Tott teaches history, Hector, General Studies. Hector is in love with poetry, with words, with compound adjectives and gerunds. He also enjoys an occasional grope of a young man’s genitals while they are riding pillion on his Vellocette motorcycle. And the boys know this, and accept it, and know exactly how to deal with him. “It may happen that he may put his hand upon your knee…the trick is look down at it and ask, And what does Mr. Hector want? He has no answer to this, and so will desist.”

The Headmaster, very keen to have a successful class inducted into Oxbridge (either will do) hires a teacher to polish them up, give them an edge, get them into University. His name is Tom Irwin.

Headmaster: He comes highly-recommended.
Mrs. Lintott: So did Anne of Cleves.
Headmaster: Who? He's up-to-the-minute, more "now".
Mrs. Lintott: (very dryly) Now? I thought history was "then".

The dichotomy of Tom Irwin’s quest to make them think outside the box, to be less predictable, to stand out, and there by get noticed by the overwhelmed exam boards, and Hector’s fuzzy, unfocused ADD wonderfully eclectic approach to instilling the love of learning, makes the two men seem antagonists, but nothing could be further from the truth.

The young men are overwhelmed by information, expectation, and hormones. Daikin, the pretty one, is the only one with any practical experience, and it’s not beyond first base, and Posner is in love with Daikin, something he discusses with Irwin.
There is an unusual amount of acceptance in the group…certainly, you would be hard pressed to find its match in a normal class, but I will let you in on a secret that I think the playwright knew instinctively. When you pass a certain level of intelligence, that is the minority group that defines you. You may be black, you may be gay, you may be Muslim, but when you are gifted, that is the quality that defines you, and alienates you, and that is the minority group you can count on to accept you. Ten percent of the population is gay, but less than two percent are truly gifted. Which is a more exclusive group?

Then, the event happens that puts everything into a different light. Hector is seen fondling Crowther by a lollipop lady (crossing guard). It will be an early retirement. Less fuss that way. How very English.

But the effect is profound, and it brings it all into focus, and everything suddenly is clearer, society, the game of scholarship, and even history.

The Cast
How I wish the full ensemble could have been used to the full effect of Daikin, Posner and Scripps! I suppose that is impossible, given the 109 minute time frame.

The Teachers
Stephen Campbell Moore ... Tom Irwin.
” Timms: You've got crap handwriting, sir!
Tom Irwin: It's your eyesight that's bad, and we know what that's caused by.
Timms: Sir! Is that a coded reference to the mythical dangers of self-abuse?
Tom Irwin: Possibly. It might even be a joke.

The ringer brought in to polish the boy’s education, and give them an edge in college examinations. Young, bright, witty, barely older than his students, these bright and shiny pack animals give him an education. Dakin more than most. I can’t decide who the playwright identifies with the most, Posner, Irwin or Hector. Perhaps all three…the three stages of life, maiden, mother and crone, as it were.

Richard Griffiths ... Hector
” Pass the parcel. That's sometimes all you can do. Take it, feel it and pass it on. Not for me, not for you, but for someone, somewhere, one day. Pass it on, boys. That's the game I want you to learn. Pass it on.” Hector, on the topic of learning.

Hector (real name, Douglas…Christian name unknown) is a teacher. He is also something of a silly old nancy. But more than his passion for boys, he infects his students with the passion for learning. What a gift. Played by Uncle Vernon of Harry Potter fame, this is a masterful performance.

Frances de la Tour ... Mrs. Lintott
” Durham (College) was very good for history. It's where I had my first pizza. Other things too, of course, but it's the pizza that stands out.”

Another veteran of Harry Potter, Frances is wonderful as the veteran teacher, cautious enough to know the game, but tired of playing it. Her acerbic wit and genuine love of her students make her a hero…if unsung.
History is women following behind…with a bucket Totty.

Samuel Barnett ... Posner
(discussing Posner liking Dakin)
Scripps: Oh, Pos, with your spaniel heart. It will pass.
Posner: Yes, it's a phase. Who says I want it to pass? But the pain, the *pain*.
Scripps: Hector would say it's the only education worth having.
Posner: Yes. I just wish there were marks for it.
Posner is small for his age, Jewish, homosexual, and living in Sheffield….He is also has a crush on Dakin, who, heterosexual that he is, can not love him back. Posner is bright, talented, and sings from the heart. In many ways, he is the soul of this movie…at least for me. Samuel Barnett takes pasty whiteness to a whole tasty new level by sheer acting ability. A wonderful performance.

Dominic Cooper ... Dakin
Dakin: Lecher though one is - or aspires to be - it occurs to me that the lot of woman cannot be easy, who must suffer such inexpert fumblings, virtually on a daily basis. Are we scarred for life, do you think?
Scripps: We must hope so.

Dakin is cursed with good looks and sex appeal that oozes. It would interfere with a lesser mortal developing a personality. Dakin, however, suffers from an excess of that as well. Thoroughly heterosexual, he is so secure that he can contemplate the possibility of a trip to the other side, not with the eager Posner, but with Mr. Irwin, who challenges him.

Dominic gives a brilliant performance as a self centered merde…perhaps it is type casting, or he is one of the most gifted young actors around.

Jamie Parker ... Scripps.
” No more genital massage as one speeds along leafy suburban roads. No more the bike's melancholy long withdrawing roar as he dropped you at the corner, your honour still intact.”

Scripps is very observant, very religious, and very dry and droll. He gets the best punchlines of the movie. Dakin’s foil, everyone’s friend, he is omnipresent, but not overwhelming. Jamie Parker is brilliant.

Russell Tovey ... Rudge
”It’s not like winning a match.” Rudge, about getting into Oxford, Christ College.

Working class, and less brilliant, Rudge is constantly underestimated. Even when he pulls off a zinger, (and in French, no less) no one notices. As the Headmaster says when he thinks Rudge has failed to make Oxford “You can’t polish a t*rd.” But Rudge, of all of them, sees things clearly. Look at the quote at the beginning of this piece.

Andrew Knott ... Lockwood.
Wilkes: I heard that. Give me twenty.
Lockwood: Twenty what, Hail Marys?

Lockwood is the voice of dissent. He is acerbic by habit.

Samuel Anderson ... Crowther.
Oiy!
The only black kid, he is one of those underutilized ones.

James Corden ... Timms
(about A.E. Houseman)
Timms: Wasn't he a nancy, sir?
Hector: Foul, festering, grubby-minded little trollop! Do not use that word!
[Hits him on the head with an exercise book]
Timms: But you use it, sir!
Hector: I do, sir, I know, but I am far gone in age and decrepitude.

The fat kid. Underutilized in the extreme, James Corden is brimming with talent. There is a brightness that shines from out his pudgy little face. A great, if small, performance.

Sacha Dhawan ... Akhtar
This is a pagan temple to me, sir. Referring to the Holy Ground of an Abbey. Akhtar is a Muslim. He is also pretty…and that is about it. I would have liked to see more. Perhaps in the Director’s cut….

Clive Merrison ... The Headmaster.
”We're low in the league. (of prestigious schools) I want to see us up there with Manchester Grammar, Haberdasher Askes, Leighton Park... or is that an open prison?

Mrs. Lintott calls him “The Great Warning.” If you don’t pay attention and let life make you bitter, you turn into this man. An excellent evaluation. I think a quote of his tells you all you really need to know about him. It occurs during his talk with Hector when he is telling him he is to be retired early:
”F*ck the Ren-ai-ssance! And f*ck literature, and Plato, and Michaelangelo, and Oscar Wilde, and all the other shrunken violets you people line up. This is a school, and it isn't normal!” The Headmaster.

Back at the beginning Rudge defined history as “one f*cking thing after another.” And that is the way it goes. If a thousand events had gone differently for Hector, if they had left early, or later, if the light had been green, if there had been no children there, if Hector had waited one more block for his grope…things would have been vastly different. That is the nature of history; an infinitely complex web of things that affect each other. It’s just one f*cking thing after another, and they all interrelate.

I love this movie. The actors are brilliant. There is not a poor performance in the lot. Nor are these the best quotes…Though I wandered long, I have held true to my course…I hope this will inspire you to check out this wonderful film. It is funny, and poignant, and endearing, and I think you will be enriched by it. I was.

Gay Movies:

La Mission***Burnt Money***8: The Mormon Propo$ition***In The Flesh***The Sensei***The 24th Day***Wrangler: Anatomy of an Icon***ZMD: Zombies of Mass Destruction***East Side Story***Dorian Blues***Creatures From the Pink Lagoon***Satyricon***Ice Men***Richard O'Briens Rocky Horror Tribute Show***Prom Queen***The Kids are All Right***Between Love and Goodbye***The Mudge Boy***That Man: Peter Berlin***A Single Man***Almost Normal***Outing Riley***Outrage!***Law of Desire***Love is the Devil***Cowboy Junction***Horror in the Wind***Bedrooms and Hallways***Cut Sleeve Boys***Big Eden***For A Lost Soldier***Midnight Cowboy***Redwoods***The Massuer***Boy Culture***Breakfast With Scot***The Fluffer***Flesh***Little Ashes***L.I.E. ***Dorian Gray***9 Dead Gay Guys***Shank***I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry***Beautiful Boxer***Bangkok Love Story***Schoolboy Crush***Shelter***Back Soon***Dog Tags***Theft***The Mulligans***The Velvet Goldmine***Swashbuckler***Smoke Signals
***C'Thulhu***Milk***The Picture of Dorian Gray***Brideshead Revisited***Notes on a Scandal***RocknRolla***Mamma Mia!
***Priscillia: Queen of the Desert***The History Boys***Brokeback Mountain***The Broken Hearts Club*** Yaji and Kita: Midnight Pilgrims ***Surge of Power ***In & Out ***Mambo Italiano ***Touch of Pink ***To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything, Julie Newmar ***Wolves of Kromer ***Rocky Horror Picture Show ***Taboo ***Deathtrap 


Gay Themed Series:

Spartacus: Blood and Sand
Dante's Cove
Hex
Carnivale Season One
Carnivale Season Two
Rome Season One
Rome Season Two
True Blood
True Blood: Season Two
The Book of Daniel: The Complete Series
Torchwood: Children of Earth
Torchwood: Season One


Gay Animation:

Pirate's Booty***Sensitive Pornograph***Loveless: The Complete Series***Loveless: Hope on the Run***Loveless: Soul of Chains***Loveless: Lost and Found***Embracing Love: A Cicada in Winter***Embracing Love: Cherished Spring ***Stonewall & Riot***Drawn Together Movie: The Movie***Drawn Together: Season 2***Drawn Together: Season 3

Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older