''Borstal Boy'' is a 2000 romantic

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Peter Sheridan Peter Sheridan (born 1952) is an Irish playwright, screenwriter and director. He lives in Dublin. His awards include the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature. In 1980 he was writer-in-residence in the Abbey Theatre, Dublin, and his short film, Th ...

, based on the 1958

autobiographical An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life. It is a form of biography. Definition The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English peri ...

novel of the same name by

Brendan Behan Brendan Francis Aidan Behan (christened Francis Behan) ( ; ga, Breandán Ó Beacháin; 9 February 1923 – 20 March 1964) was an Irish poet, short story writer, novelist, playwright, and Irish Republican activist who wrote in both English an ...

Plot

In 1941, 16-year-old

IRA Ira or IRA may refer to: *Ira (name), a Hebrew, Sanskrit, Russian or Finnish language personal name *Ira (surname), a rare Estonian and some other language family name *Iran, UNDP code IRA Law *Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, US, on status of ...

volunteer

(

Shawn Hatosy Shawn Wayne Hatosy is an American film and television actor and director. He is best known for his roles in the films '' In & Out'', ''The Faculty'', '' Outside Providence'', '' Anywhere but Here'', ''The Cooler'', and ''Alpha Dog''. He is also w ...

) is going on a bombing mission from

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. His mission is thwarted when he is apprehended, charged and imprisoned in a

borstal A Borstal was a type of youth detention centre in the United Kingdom, several member states of the Commonwealth and the Republic of Ireland. In India, such a detention centre is known as a Borstal school. Borstals were run by HM Prison Service ...

, a reform institution for young offenders in

East Anglia East Anglia is an area in the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, a people whose name originated in Anglia, in ...

, England. At borstal, Brendan is forced to live face-to-face with those he regarded as his enemies, a confrontation that reveals a deep inner conflict in the young Brendan and forces a self-examination that is both traumatic and revealing. Events take an unexpected turn and Brendan is thrown into a complete spin. In the emotional vortex, he finally faces up to the truth.

Cast

Danny Dyer Danial John Dyer (born 24 July 1977) is an English actor and presenter. Dyer's breakthrough role was as Moff in ''Human Traffic'', with other notable roles as Mick Carter in EastEnders, Billy the Limpet in '' Mean Machine'' and as Tommy Johns ...

as Charlie Milwall *

Lee Ingleby Lee David Ingleby (born 28 January 1976) is an English film, television and stage actor. He is best known for his roles as Detective Sergeant/Detective Inspector John Bacchus in the BBC drama ''Inspector George Gently'', as Stan Shunpike in ...

as Dale *

Michael York Michael York OBE (born Michael Hugh Johnson; 27 March 1942) is an English film, television and stage actor. After performing on-stage with the Royal National Theatre, he had a breakthrough in films by playing Tybalt in Franco Zeffirelli's ''Ro ...

as Joyce *

Eva Birthistle Eva Birthistle (born 1974) is an Irish actress and writer. She is best known for her role in '' Ae Fond Kiss...'' and since 2015 has starred in ''The Last Kingdom''. She won the London Film Critics Circle British or Irish Actress of the Year Aw ...

as Liz Joyce *

Mark Huberman Mark Huberman (born 1981) is an Irish actor. Early life Mark Huberman grew up in Cabinteely, south Dublin. His father Harold was born in London; his mother Sandra is from County Wexford. His sister, Amy Huberman Amy Huberman (born 20 March 1 ...

as Mac *

Ian McElhinney Ian McElhinney (born 19 August 1948) is a Northern Irish actor and director. He has appeared in many television series in a career spanning more than forty years; notable appearances include ''Taggart'', '' Hornblower'', '' Cold Feet'', and '' ...

as Verreker *

Ronnie Drew Joseph Ronald Drew (16 September 1934 – 16 August 2008) was an Irish people, Irish singer, folk musician and actor who achieved international fame during a fifty-year career recording with The Dubliners. He is most recognised for his lead voc ...

as Customs

External links

* * * *
New York Times review

LA Times review
2000 films 2000s biographical films 2000s coming-of-age films 2000 independent films 2000 LGBT-related films 2000 romantic drama films 2000s teen drama films 2000s teen romance films British biographical films British coming-of-age films British independent films British LGBT-related films British prison drama films British romantic drama films British teen drama films British teen romance films Coming-of-age drama films Coming-of-age romance films Drama films based on actual events English-language Irish films Films about the Irish Republican Army Films based on autobiographical novels Films based on Irish novels Gay-related films Irish biographical films Irish coming-of-age films Irish independent films Irish LGBT-related films Irish romantic drama films Irish teen films LGBT-related romantic drama films LGBT-related coming-of-age films LGBT-related films based on actual events Romance films based on actual events British teen LGBT-related films 2000s English-language films 2000s British films {{LGBT-film-stub