intermission Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Movies about ex-convicts and their difficulty assimilating back into society generally begin with the prison release, during which the protagonist typically looks downright miserable. At first thought, I recall the opening of Vincent Gallo's Buffalo '66, which ironically exaggerates the hopelessness of post-incarceration by adding a lack of a public restroom to the list of things the former jailbird is without. But at the beginning of John Crowley's new film, Boy A, the titular young man being turned back into the world is high-browed and smiling from ear to ear. And this change from the expected norm really drew me into the film immediately.

Perhaps the difference is that for most films about ex-cons, the hero doesn't have a very good chance at starting over. For "Boy A," however, there's a literal reinvention taking place. In the first scene, the young man (Andrew Garfield) sits with his caseworker, Terry (Peter Mullan), and discusses the details of his release, which include his receiving a new home, a new job and, most importantly, a new identity -- he chooses the name "Jack." Also, rather symbolically, Terry hands Jack a gift, a pair of sneakers that unintentionally represents the young man's ability to comfortably run away from his former life.

Those Weinsteins don't waste a minute! IndieWIRE reports that the Weinstein Company has bought the Toronto International Film Festival entry Boy A before it even screens there. The deal was finalized Friday; the film premieres Saturday. Talk about beating the rush.

Based on a novel by Jonathan Trigell, Boy A is a drama about a young man released from prison after spending most of his life there for a serious crime he committed when he was a child. The director is John Crowley, his second theatrical feature after 2003's ensemble comedy Intermission, which played out like a violent version of Love Actually. Boy A's cast includes Andrew Garfield, Peter Mullan, Katie Lyons, and Shaun Evans.

The Weinsteins' luck has been bad the last couple years, with very few hits and a lot of box office flops. But one thing they've generally been good at is sniffing out winners at film festivals. Buying Boy A before it even premieres suggests they spotted a good one and didn't want to risk someone else grabbing it -- that, or they're getting desperate. Hopefully we'll have some insight from our crew members in Toronto after the film screens there.