Boy A (DVD) ★★★★

Boy A is at heart a coming of age story in reverse, with the 23-year-old experiencing what he would have had had he not spent his teenage years behind bars. It's a brilliant one at that, with an absolutely phenomenal performance by Andrew Garfield. He only won two awards for his portrayal of the essentially born again young man, but at least one of them was a BAFTA. He carries the story on his shoulders and emotes every little detail of his complex character, such as his shy coyness that becomes a nature that at times transcends as if Jack has a mental illness – but he doesn't – it is just the way he is as, in essence a virgin to life; nervous but excited at every new step he takes. Blisters of emotion, both positive and negative, erupt from Garfield and he creates a tragically moving and what I can only imagine would be a realistic portrait of a man who has led such a life as he.

Jack is basically a student at his overly attached social worker's school of life, played outstandingly by Scotsman Peter Mullan, who eases him into his new mind and body by allowing him to experience everything from work and alcohol, to relationships and camaraderie. In a nutshell, life.

With a story that unfolds in flashbacks to Jack's youth, my only quarrels with the film are with that device. The flashbacks paint a picture of a troubled young boy who is a frequent victim of bullies, whose only friend is a boy with problems of his own and a penchant for violence. Jack's home life as a kid is shown as fragmented to say the least, with his mother seen for about 30 seconds who apparently has breast cancer, and a father who is guzzling whiskey during the afternoon. I say guzzling, but it's merely hinted at that he is an alcoholic, and that is where my minor issue with the film is: Jack, as Eric when he was a youth, is not given enough screen time at home, so we have to make assumptions at what that part of life was like to better understand the mindset of the character and the motives for the murder.