THE HISTORY BOYS

This big-screen adaptation of the five-time Tony award–winning play of the same name, THE HISTORY BOYS relies on the same talent as the original stage version, which had its world premiere at London's prestigious National Theatre in 2004, winning audience and critical acclaim, including Laurence Olivier Awards for Best New Play, Best Director (Nicholas Hytner) and Best Actor (Richard Griffiths). THE HISTORY BOYS tells the story of an unruly class of bright, funny history students in pursuit of an undergraduate place at Oxford or Cambridge. Bounced among their maverick English master (Richard Griffiths), a young and shrewd teacher hired to up their test scores (Stephen Campbell Moore), a traditional history teacher (Frances de la Tour) and a headmaster obsessed with results (Clive Merrison), the boys attempt to sift through it all to pass the daunting admissions process. Their journey becomes as much about how education works as about where it leads.

DIR/PROD Nicholas Hytner; SCR Alan Bennett, based on his play; PROD Damian Jones and Kevin Loader. UK, 2006, color. RATED R