Handsome Devil (film)

Handsome Devil is a 2016 Irish comedy-drama film directed by John Butler.[2] It was screened in the Contemporary World Cinema section at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival.[3]

Handsome Devil
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJohn Butler
Produced by
  • Rebecca O'Flanagan
  • Robert Walpole
  • Claire McCaughley
  • Sarah Gunn
Written byJohn Butler
Starring
Narrated byFionn O'Shea
Music byJohn McPhillips
CinematographyCathal Watters
Edited byJohn O'Connor
Production
company
Treasure Entertainment
Distributed byIcon Film Distribution
Release date
  • 11 September 2016 (2016-09-11) (TIFF)
  • 21 April 2017 (2017-04-21) (Ireland)
Running time
95 minutes
CountryIreland
LanguageEnglish
Budget€1,055,000
Box office$129,391[1]

It centres around an ostracised teenager (Fionn O'Shea) at an elite, rugby-obsessed, all-boys boarding school in Ireland modelled on Castleknock and Blackrock, whose new roommate (Nicholas Galitzine) is the school's new rugby star-player.[4][5] The two form an unlikely friendship until it is tested by those around them.[6] The film features themes of homosexuality, while examining the hypocrisy and snobbery of the Irish private school system. Handsome Devil received critical acclaim, winning the award for Best Irish Feature of 2017 from the Dublin Film Critics' Circle;[7] four nominations at the 2018 Irish Film and Television Academy (IFTA) Awards,[8] including Best Feature Film; and the Best Single Drama Award at the annual Celtic Media Festival in 2018.[9]

Plot

The film is set at an elite rugby-obsessed all boys boarding school in Ireland modelled on Castleknock and Blackrock, and is seen through the eyes of Ned, an ostracised student at the school.[10][11] He seems to be the only student there who does not enjoy rugby. A new student arrives at the school, Conor, who is Ned's roommate and a star rugby player. Though the two are initially wary of each other, they soon form a close friendship, with a particular interest in music. The new English teacher, Mr. Sherry, also arrives at the school, who, though stern, is encouraging towards Ned and Conor. It is revealed throughout the film that the school generally encourages homophobic behaviour, particularly by the students and the rugby coach, Pascal.

During a night out celebrating with the rugby team, Conor sees Mr. Sherry with his male partner at a gay club and understands that he is homosexual. At the same time, Ned realizes that Conor himself is gay after seeing him in the same gay club. Pascal sees the two of them talking with each other and becomes worried that Mr. Sherry's influence will have a negative effect on Conor, his most valuable player.

Ned and Conor decide to perform a musical piece at the local elementary school's variety show, at the encouragement of Mr. Sherry. Pascal and the rest of the rugby team find out that Conor was kicked out of his former school for repeatedly getting into fights with those who discovered that he was gay, and uses it as blackmail, insinuating that if he does not pick different friends, his secret will be revealed. As a result, Conor does not turn up to the variety show performance, leaving Ned emotionally hurt. Ned turns up to an event with the rugby team, where Conor shoves him away in front of the entire team.

Angry and frustrated, during a rugby rally, Ned outs Conor in front of the entire school. Ned is expelled and Conor runs away.

As the final match approaches, Conor is still missing. Ned knows where to find him and brings him back to the stadium, where they convince Pascal that he can still be gay and a good rugby player, and that Conor is not ashamed of his sexuality, despite that being the case in the past. The film ends with the team winning the final of the Leinster Schools Senior Cup and Ned returning to the school and winning the English writing competition using the story of his and Conor's friendship.

Cast

Soundtrack

Reception

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 83% based on 46 reviews, with an average rating of 6.59/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Handsome Devil offers a charming, well-acted variation on the coming-of-age story with a few fresh topical twists."[12] Metacritic gives the film a weighted average rating of 60 out of 100, based on 6 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[13]

Awards and nominations
Year Award Category Recipient(s) Result Ref.
2017 Dublin Film Critics Circle Awards Best Irish Feature Film Handsome Devil 3rd place [14]
Dublin International Film Festival Best Irish Feature John Butler Won
FilmOut San Diego LGBT Film Festival Best Actor Fion O'Shea Won [15]
Best Narrative Feature John Butler Won
Best Cinematography Cathal Watters Won
Outflix Film Festival Best Foreign Feature John Butler Won [16]
Seattle International Film Festival Futurewave Youth Jury Award - Best Feature Film Nominated [17]
2018 15th Irish Film and Television Awards Best Film Rebecca O'Flanagan Nominated [18]
Robert Walpole
Claire McCaughley
Sarah Gunn
Best Director John Butler Nominated
Best Screenplay Nominated
Best Actor in a Leading Role - Film Fionn O'Shea Nominated
Rising Star Award Nominated
Best Actor in a Supporting Role - Film Andrew Scott Nominated
Celtic Media Festival Ireland Single Drama (Over 30 Minutes) Handsome Devil Won
gollark: If there's demand I could probably package this as an actual product. Maybe even with a block scanner so it can do targeted mowing.
gollark: At power 0.5, so it only damages grass and unlucky people.
gollark: Stick a turtle/manipulator/whatever in the middle of the field, and have it constantly fire lasers in random directions on the, er, XZ plane?
gollark: We don't need a lawnmower mod. Lasers are perfectly capable of mowing.
gollark: I think it prioritizes the helmet.

References
  1. "Handsome Devil". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
  2. Murphy, Niall (20 January 2016). "Irish Film Preview: John Butler's Handsome Devil". Scannain. Retrieved 23 August 2016.
  3. Kay, Jeremy (16 August 2016). "Toronto unveils City To City, World Cinema, Masters line-ups". Screen Daily. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
  4. "Handsome Devil - Handsome College". KnockUnion.ie. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
  5. Mullally, Una. "Blackrock boy meets Blackrock boy: Being 'gay and into sport' at an elite Dublin rugby school". The Irish Times. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
  6. Rooney, David (17 September 2016). "'Handsome Devil': Film Review – TIFF 2016". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 31 July 2017.
  7. Clarke, Donald (26 February 2017). "The DFCC Awards at the Audi Dublin International Film Festival". The Irish Times. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
  8. "IFTA Nominations for the IFTA Film and Drama Awards 2018". Irish Film and Television Academy. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
  9. "Winners - Llanelli 2018". Celtic Media Festival. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
  10. "Handsome Devil - Handsome College". KnockUnion.ie. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
  11. Mullally, Una. "Blackrock boy meets Blackrock boy: Being 'gay and into sport' at an elite Dublin rugby school". The Irish Times. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
  12. "Handsome Devil (2017)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
  13. "Handsome Devil Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
  14. "THE DUBLIN FILM CRITICS CIRCLE AWARDS ANNOUNCED FOR 2017". Irish Film Institute. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  15. "2017 LGBT FILMOUT FILM FESTIVAL AWARDS". FilmOut San Diego. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  16. "Outflix Film Festival". IMDb. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  17. "Seattle International Film Festival". IMDb. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  18. "IFTA FILM & DRAMA AWARDS CEREMONY WINNERS 2018". IFTA. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
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