Cast: Andrew Garfield (Jack Burridge), Peter Mullan (Terry), Michelle (Katie Lyons)

Directed by: John Crowley

Based on the novel by Jonathan Triggel

a scene from Boy A

Are there some crimes for which the granting or gaining of redemption is beyond human reach?

Boy A is pure evil. I would believe that. And you would. If you learnt of the horrifically violent and senseless crime he committed. We would consider any punishment to be inadequate. Now, here comes the catch, the Gordian knot. He was a kid when he did it. Probably around 12. He spent the next 14 years of his life locked up in a juvenile detention centre. He has undergone intensive therapy and counselling. He is being released. He is no longer Boy A. He has a new identity and a new name, Jack Burridge. He has been deemed cured. But could an individual like him ever really change? Does he deserve a second chance at life, the opportunity that so many better are denied by fate?

When we first see him he looks like an ordinary young man…in fact more like a shy, childish boy who has stumbled into adulthood, carrying over an appealing goofy smile. As he is driven to his new home, accompanied by his counsellor Terry and he gazes through the window, the mix of apprehension and wonder in his eyes is palpable.

A job has been arranged for him at a warehouse. He finds a friend in a co-worker, Chris. The pretty, older secretary, Michelle, develops a liking for him. As he places an order in a restaurant confused with paninis and Mexican chicken, as he goes to his first after-hours party and gets drunk and stoned, as he kisses Michelle tentatively, as he tries to catch up with the world which left him behind, we follow his steps with concern.

The one thing which his counsellor, Terry, keeps on drilling into his head is that he must not reveal his real identity under any circumstances. Even when he feels compelled to share it with his girlfriend or his best buddy. Even when the lies start piling up too high.

In flashbacks we see Jack as a neglected child, ignored by his father and sick mother. He finds a companion in Philip, who is probably already damaged beyond repair by this stage. Together they bunk school, shoplift, beat up bullies, indulge in random destructive behaviour. But nothing could ever justify what it all ends up in.

All is not hunky-dory in the present either. His past is always creeping up around the edges. Threatening to take over. He has regular nightmares. He obsesses over the suicide of his partner in crime, Philip, at the age of seventeen. A local tabloid splashing a story about the hush-hush release of the second unnamed killer is the least of his worries. His biggest fear is what’s within. He is acutely aware of what he is capable of. When he beats up a couple of guys ganging up on Chris during a rooftop party and is hailed as a hero by his mates, he scarcely feels like one. But he does turn into one in the eyes of a lot more people when he spots a roadside accident and ends up saving a little girl’s life. And begins to get attention he could easily do without.

The movie would never have worked without Andrew Garfield’s fascinating, layered performance. We are not even sure if he has any true remorse. The only thing we know for sure is that he is trying…hard. As is his counsellor. Even at the cost of his personal life and his relationship with his son.

The movie is not entirely unbiased or objective in its view. It makes no bones about its beliefs. What makes it intriguing is that while it is making us empathize with Jack, it is slowly unveiling the sordid details of his heinous crime. And thus, it implicates the audience, involving them in the dilemma of the people who come to care for him. Could they and should they forgive him? He answered the call from the dark once and went in. Whether he can ever emerge from there is the question asked.

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