The Boys (1997)

A movie about a bunch of losers and it is everyone else fault that their world is so depressing and terrible. The screenplay, acting and direction is excellent, but it is a difficult movie to watch. Brett (David Wenham) catches the mentality of these types of losers and unfortunately it is a true depiction of how some people live their lives. It could have been a better movie if one of the character could have dragged themselves out of this world. It would have been a little more uplifting and I would have recommended it. Okay, but depressing!

Fantastic grity domestic crime drama. There's a fabulous use of flash-forward which brings intensity to the situations. I thought the performances were very intense.

Fantastic movie. Brett returns from jail, his brothers have started getting their lives into something resembling normality, but he soon fixes that. Like so many sociopaths, everything is always someone else's fault, Brett never does wrong. Yet, when you look behind him, everyone else's lives are destroyed or damaged. The story slowly exposes why he went to jail, and his inevitable demise. A little bit like 'Momento'.

Horrible. It made no sense. Don't jump back and forwards through a timeline if your just going to leave the story unfinished. Hopeless Aussie drama.

A chilling essay on the banality of evil and the home-bred terrorists who stalk our suburbs full of anger and alcohol. Welcome to the scary under-belly our society -- from the bullies and the thugs to the road ragers and the rapists who fill our courts and jails. David Wenham's portrayal of Brett Sprague is one Australian cinema's great performances. Wenham's sociopath is both repulsive and attractive. It's well worth a look. This guy can act. Well worth a listen is the soundtrack by The Necks. It's moody, abstract and so not AC/DC, Rose Tattoo or Cold Chisel, which would have been a cheap, easy shot at the otherwise law-abiding citizens of our outer suburbs.

Australian low life movie. No detectable plot.

Gritty drama is well played by the principle cast (future Hollywood director Polson won an AFI Award for Best Actor) in a film that examines Sydney's forgotten "working" class, where the men (brothers Wenham, Polson and Hayes) cling to their historical role of dominance over the women in compensation for their multitudes of other inadequacies. Thus, they are trapped in their own home: outside those four walls, the three brothers are powerless against the middle- and upper-classes, who rely on knowledge and wealth for their influence. There are strong performances all-round in this highly sensitive film which won praise from all quarters - including (perhaps surprisingly) the very group of people that is portrayed on-screen. The initial performance of Gordon Graham's "The Boys", by the Griffin Theatre Company at the Stables Theatre on 28 February 1991, included Curran and Wenham, as well as acclaimed actor David Field.

A compelling performance by David Wenham. This is a hard movie to watch, but provides a thoroughly believable account of the first 24 hours 'out'. I thought the switching of time an excellent device for the telling of the story.

Despite the subject matter I had to watch this movie. The "boys" were so dreadful esp. David Wenham! An interesting look at relationships.

Depressing.

Very unlikable characters in this movie. Hard to concentrate on what was happening, as it kept moving backwards and forward in time.

This would have to be one of the worst Aussie movies ever made - poor storyline and every actor (male & female) had to swear non-stop

Excellent story, excellent direction, excellent performances all round. An incredible claustraphobic psycological take on a disturbing and brutal crime.

Well made film but rather depressing. David Wenham usually cast as a good guy seems out of place as a bad guy.

Tense to watch, but difficult to relate to the characters - none are likeable. Violent.