Somewhat dated (understandably), this snapshot of 1949 borstal was a little surprising to me in that I had the idea that borstal conditions were *much* tougher than the movie portrayed.
The acting is, generally, very good (particularly by the main characters Jack Warner, Richard Attenborough, Dirk Bogarde). However, it seemed to me that many of the cast were - in real life - much older than the maximum age (23) for 'inmates' and, consequently, I think some of them (in trying to act younger) overdid it and acted too young. One notable case was Bogarde's character on his knees crying and begging the governor to be separated from peers. This created a considerable disparity that just didn't sit well for me. This was compounded by my first impression image of grown men dressed in schoolboy shorts acting as young teenagers. The young Attenborough, though, was what was to later become his usual brilliance.
This film was a very interesting social commentary for the time and, as previously alluded, an excellent social history snapshot.
Notable end quotes:
Worth watching.
The acting is, generally, very good (particularly by the main characters Jack Warner, Richard Attenborough, Dirk Bogarde). However, it seemed to me that many of the cast were - in real life - much older than the maximum age (23) for 'inmates' and, consequently, I think some of them (in trying to act younger) overdid it and acted too young. One notable case was Bogarde's character on his knees crying and begging the governor to be separated from peers. This created a considerable disparity that just didn't sit well for me. This was compounded by my first impression image of grown men dressed in schoolboy shorts acting as young teenagers. The young Attenborough, though, was what was to later become his usual brilliance.
This film was a very interesting social commentary for the time and, as previously alluded, an excellent social history snapshot.
Notable end quotes:
- "Well, of course they try to escape. And why not? Aren't we all of us trying to escape from some prison of our own making? There you are, Johnson, the wheat and the chaff"
- "Yes sir, but the thing is, which is which?"
- "No, Johnson, the thing is to find out *what* is the chaff... and why".
Worth watching.