‘The history boys’ (kindly provided by Kate), although tagged as British Comedy/Drama, belongs in the category of Sci-Fi. A group of high achievers from a British Grammar School prepare for the Oxbridge admission exams.
You cannot watch this film as if the action took place on planet Earth, let alone Sheffield. Starting with the depiction they make of Oxford and Cambridge, and the kind of students who come here. There is such a perfect ethnic cross-section to represent all of Britain (Jew, black, Christian, fat, gay, Indian, jock…) that it seems fabricated. Dialogue is stagy to put it mildly (the film has been adapted from a play by A. Bennett), and just unthinkable for people of that age. If those students really existed, they would have been bullied to death by chavs. And of course the teachers are like aliens.
The film is disproportionate in every dimension, as was dinner:
- Starters: Guacamole and achovy canapes. Nachos with marinated artichoke, parmesan and mayo dip
- First dish: Fabada (bean soup with onion, chorizo, bacon and black pudding)
- Main dish: Large breaded schnitzel
- Dessert: Chocolate pudding
