The Boys

R

1998

1 hr. 24 min.

Crime

Drama

List

88%

8 Reviews

Tomatometer

81%

100+ Ratings

Audience Score

Brett (David Wenham), out of prison on parole, returns to his family home to catch up with his mother, Sandra (Lynette Curran), and his brothers, Stevie (Anthony Hayes) and Glenn (John Polson). The day takes a bad turn when the brothers start drinking and doing drugs. After lingering tension between Brett and girlfriend, Michelle (Toni Collette), results in a violent altercation, Brett and his brothers embark on a night of hedonism that they will have difficulty living down.

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Audience Member

The Boys, a chilling Australian film rife with domestic violence features Brett Sprague (David Wenham), a man on parole whose thin veil of humanity becomes evident within hours of moving back in with his two brothers, their girlfriends, and mom. Manipulating and intimidating everyone in the household doesn't come easy. As the mother fails to keep together the family in Brett's wake, the household becomes beset with Brett's omnipotent presence evidenced in the following quote from the end of the film "We're all gods in our own world", said before committing a heinous crime that viewers are only allowed to speculate at based on a few lines in the ending scene and cut ins of the three brothers being escorted in handcuffs. The beginning of the film features eerie piano music from The Necks, showing images of everyday household objects illustrating how the ordinary can take on meaning often larger than itself, providing escape for the inhabitants of this household run by a sociopath.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/14/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Apart from a couple of swerves into histrionics typical of Australian dramas, this is really good; the tension is built really well, and though the flash-forwards seem trite at first, they make more and more sense as it goes along, until you get the to perfectly-timed ending and it all comes together. Fucking bogans.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

01/30/23

Full Review

Audience Member

excellent gritty film. recommended for those who like character studies

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/19/23

Full Review

Audience Member

This fictional dramatisation of the events leading up to the real life rape and murder of Anita Cobby is compelling viewing. David Wenham is chillingly convincing as Brett Sprague who has just been released from prison and returns home to his mother, brothers and girlfriend.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/05/23

Full Review

Audience Member

It doesn't take long to work out how the structure of the Sprague family works, with David Wenham's Brett intimidating and manipulating his way to the top of the pack, allowing the men to dominate and the woman to become subservient. And it's through this process that Wenham truly shines, because it says a lot about an actor who can make his audience on edge as much as those around him. As his younger brother Glenn, John Polson is also brilliant and is the most compassionate of the title characters, with youngest brother Stevie (a solid performance from Anthony Hayes) conveying his suppressed rage in almost every scene. As for the women, Lynette Curran is sympathetically convincing as the boys' mother and Toni Collette is superbly powerful as Brett's girlfriend Michelle. Exceptionally directed by Rowan Woods, this gritty tale in which flashforwards gradually reveal the boys' fate, finishes off with a final line of dialogue that says so much about Brett.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

01/20/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Easily one of the most striking films of the 90's to come from Australia. It is a showcase of future Australian talent and a remarkable observation on the family psyche with crime and disrespect.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/15/23

Full Review

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Rowan Woods

Director

David Wenham

Sprague

Toni Collette

Michelle

Lynette Curran

Sandra Sprague

John Polson

Glenn Sprague

Anthony Hayes

Stevie Sprague

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David Stratton

sbs.com.au

Sewell and Woods also know exactly how much to show - and what not to show - for maximum dramatic effect.

Rated: 4.5/5

Jul 15, 2020

Full Review

Simon Field

Time Out

Woods' brilliantly controlled feature debut is a fierce study of male violence, family loyalty and domestic imprisonment.

Jun 24, 2006

Full Review

Anita Gates

New York Times

Gloomy, somewhat plodding but still arresting...

Jan 1, 2000

Full Review

Leigh Paatsch

Herald Sun (Australia)

This just might be the best Australian movie you have never seen.

Rated: 5/5

Jul 15, 2020

Full Review

Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Rated: 3/5

Jul 18, 2005

Full Review

Ryan Cracknell

Apollo Guide

Rated: 85/100

Jan 1, 2000

Full Review

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Synopsis

Brett (David Wenham), out of prison on parole, returns to his family home to catch up with his mother, Sandra (Lynette Curran), and his brothers, Stevie (Anthony Hayes) and Glenn (John Polson). The day takes a bad turn when the brothers start drinking and doing drugs. After lingering tension between Brett and girlfriend, Michelle (Toni Collette), results in a violent altercation, Brett and his brothers embark on a night of hedonism that they will have difficulty living down.

Director: Rowan Woods
Executive Producer: Douglas Cummins
Production Co: Arena Films, Globe Films, Axiom Films
Rating: R
Genre: Crime, Drama
Original Language: English
Box Office (Gross USA): $2.9K
Sound Mix: Surround