Hell's Kitchen
Not part of a collection.
Borstal Boy
As a prisoner of war it is my duty to escape.
Brendan Behan, a sixteen year-old IRA foot soldier, is going on a bombing mission from Ireland to Liverpool during the second world war. His mission is thwarted when he is apprehended, charged and imprisoned in Borstal, a reform institution for young offenders in East Anglia, England.
- Original title
- Borstal Boy
- Language
- EN
- Country
- IE,GB
- Budget
- $100,000
- Revenue
- $87,400
CinemaSerf
Jan 22, 2025 · via TMDB
When Brendan Behan (Shawn Hatosy) arrives in Liverpool with a bag full of explosives amidst WWII, he's promptly caught and sent to a youth detention facility in Norfolk. It's run by a fair and open-minded warden (Michael York) who advises his inmates to behave themselves and all will be fine. That's easier said than done, though, as this confirmed Irish republican is not going to naturally fit in with his cohorts. One exception might be navy man Charlie Milwall (Danny Dyer) with whom he becomes quite thick. What now ensues combines a frequently toxic mix of politics, bullying and fluid sexuality with their determination to escape and a degree of humanity and some dark, wartime, humour as the coming-of-age genre takes on a different, less predictable, direction. There are gay undertones, but they are not laboured as the story depicts a broader group of lads who are lost, abandoned by family and society and rudderless - and an engaging rapport between Hatosy and Dyer emerges helping to illustrate that not everyone here knows what the war is for or, indeed, is fighting the same one. It's gritty and the dialogue is honest and ripe without becoming overwhelmingly aggressive or repetitive and by the close these two men came across as decent and honourable. Worth a watch.
User reviews courtesy of TMDB.
Amazon Video
Amazon Video
Shawn Hatosy
Brendan Behan
Danny Dyer
Charlie Milwall
Robin Laing
Jock
Ian McElhinney
Verreker
Eva Birthistle
Liz Joyce
Mark Huberman
Mac
Lee Ingleby
Dale
Ronnie Drew
Customs man
Luke Hayden
Alex
Michael York
Joyce
Mark Lambert
Chief Dixon
Eoin Slattery
James
Lukas Hassel
Kydd
Arthur Riordan
Liberian
Brian de Salvo
Judge Goddard
Jer O'Leary
Republican in Court
Luke Griffin
Miller
Norman Kelly
Stunt Double
Stephen O'Connell
Editor
Jim Sheridan
Executive Producer
Stephen McKeon
Music
Brendan Behan
Author
Victory Over Death
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