What drew me to this movie is the fact Aidan Quinn stars in it. That was an immediate draw.
I was not fully prepared for the sadistic brutality of Brother John, expertly portrayed by Iain Glen. Brother John is a varifiable bully monster, extremely abusive toward the lads in this reformatory and intractible enough to hold the other clergy at bay. Brother John's rage and anger toward one of the lads leads to Br. John beating the kid to death.
Aidan Quinn as William Franklin, the teacher, is such a magnificent balance of love and compassion that plays well against the monstrous Br. John. In fact, Quinn reminds me of Robin Williams in "Dead Poets' Society". In the end, Franklin wins the day. This was a splendid ending.
Since the film is historical fiction, it speaks volumes about the child abuse of young boys in the Roman Catholic system of reform schools. Sadism and sexual molestation were a trademark among Catholic rehab facilities. It is reputed these "schools" for the less fortunate and the troubled children were violent and extremely abusive up to the time they shut their doors in 1984.
The fact Br. John, after killing Liam (played by John Travers) was moved to another parish located in Africa speaks loudly to the Church's indifference to matters as cruel and serious as kiiling a young man. The script does a good job at revealing just how "low" the boys were held in the eyes of the clergy. Not all of the boys were criminal. Many were "throwaway kids", abandoned by their families.
I was not fully prepared for the sadistic brutality of Brother John, expertly portrayed by Iain Glen. Brother John is a varifiable bully monster, extremely abusive toward the lads in this reformatory and intractible enough to hold the other clergy at bay. Brother John's rage and anger toward one of the lads leads to Br. John beating the kid to death.
Aidan Quinn as William Franklin, the teacher, is such a magnificent balance of love and compassion that plays well against the monstrous Br. John. In fact, Quinn reminds me of Robin Williams in "Dead Poets' Society". In the end, Franklin wins the day. This was a splendid ending.
Since the film is historical fiction, it speaks volumes about the child abuse of young boys in the Roman Catholic system of reform schools. Sadism and sexual molestation were a trademark among Catholic rehab facilities. It is reputed these "schools" for the less fortunate and the troubled children were violent and extremely abusive up to the time they shut their doors in 1984.
The fact Br. John, after killing Liam (played by John Travers) was moved to another parish located in Africa speaks loudly to the Church's indifference to matters as cruel and serious as kiiling a young man. The script does a good job at revealing just how "low" the boys were held in the eyes of the clergy. Not all of the boys were criminal. Many were "throwaway kids", abandoned by their families.