Handsome Devil

Writer/director John Butler's enchanting coming-of-age movie "Handsome Devil," about two very likable 16-year-old boys in an Irish Boarding School, seems to sidestep some of the grittier aspects of homophobia so as to ensure that the end result is an engaging feel-good movie. The LGBT community is bound to make it into one of the more popular hits of 2017.

Like most of the other pupils, Ned (Finn O'Shea) is being dumped at the all-male school by his parents so that they can selfishly continue with their own lives without having the distraction of a teenage boy around to ruin their fun. As Ned hates sports, he simply doesn't fit in; rugby is treated as a religion here, and dominates the lives of the students. Like anyone who much prefers books, learning, and his own company, geeky Ned is labelled and taunted as a "faggot," something that is all but encouraged by faculty members like the bullish rugby coach Pascal (Moe Dunford).

Then, halfway through the term, a new pupil arrives and is designated to be Ned's roommate. Handsome sports jock Conor (Nicholas Galitzine) is the total opposite of Ned, and is immediately welcomed into the bosom of the rugby team when they discover what a star player he is. This causes a great deal of friction between the two roommates, and Ned piles up all the furniture between their two beds to create a "Berlin Wall" so they do not have to interact with each other at all.

The only enlightened person in this establishment who is not bubbling over with testosterone is Dan Sherry (Andrew Scott), the new English teacher, who actually tries to provide a balanced and insightful education.

As Conor's unstoppable prowess on the rugby field catapults the school's team toward the championship finals, he becomes a hero to pupils and staff alike. By this time he and Ned have slowly come to realize that they have a lot more in common than they initially thought, and as the "Berlin Wall" is dismantled the two become close friends. This in itself causes his loud-mouthed teammates to tease Conor for getting too close to his "faggot" roommate, and the ragging doesn't stop until Ned finally spills the beans that he has discovered the real reason why Conor had been expelled from his last school.

A few weeks previously, on the way back from the semi-final match in a nearby town, Ned had casually caught sight of Conor disappearing into what he was shocked to find out was a gay bar. He wasn't the only one surprised, as inside the bar Mr. Sherry, the English teacher, was making out with another man.

Despite the serious topic, Butler includes some very funny passages and also provides an uplifting end to the movie. Aside from any misgivings one may have regarding a lack of effort to deal with the subject of homophobia, you simply cannot fail to warm to the stories and performances of the two talented and charming leads. Andrew Scott is pitch perfect as the closeted teacher who finally gives some support to young Conor struggling with his sexuality: "It gets better, trust me. I can't say when, but it gets better."