Boy A (2008)

Synopsis: Bright futures are undercut by dark pasts in BOY A, a quiet, ruminative tale about a violent act committed by a man in his tormented youth, and his haunting inability to find a way to have a... Bright futures are undercut by dark pasts in BOY A, a quiet, ruminative tale about a violent act committed by a man in his tormented youth, and his haunting inability to find a way to have a peaceful adulthood years later. Fresh out of a 14-year prison sentence, 24-year-old Jack (Andrew Garfield) arrives in Manchester looking for a new start. He has a new name, a new job, and a carefully sealed criminal record, but an entire boyhood spent behind bars has left him permanently looking over his shoulder. Guided by his fatherly caseworker, Terry (Peter Mullan), Jack attempts to forge meaningful ties with a local girl and a chatty co-worker, but what happiness he finds is challenged when his true identity seeps (and then floods) through the cracks of his new façade. Directed with claustrophobic flair by John Crowley (INTERMISSION), BOY A unfolds in tight hallways and on narrow roads; for Jack, even in freedom, every room's a prison. As the story of Jack's new life moves forward, sharply lit flashbacks continually offer new details of his childhood crime. The backward glances work as both a compelling narrative technique and a glimpse into Jack's conscience (and the viewer's); the harsh reminder of his former self seem to play endlessly in his mind, impossible to reconcile with the gentle, introspective adult he longs to become. [More]

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

Starring: Andrew Garfield, Peter Mullan, Shaun Evans, Siobhan Finneran, Katie Lyons, Jeremy Swift, James Young

Director: John Crowley

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

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