'Boy A' review

Andrew Garfield in "Boy A" (Credit: Weinstein Co.)

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Jack (Andrew Garfield) has spent his teenage years in prison for a crime he committed as a child, so readjusting to society as a twentysomething guy is no easy task. With the help of kindly parole officer Terry (Peter Mullan), Jack gets a job, makes some friends and meets a girl, Michelle (Katie Lyons), but he also learns you can never escape your past.

Big question: Can this U.K. working class drama from experienced stage director John Crowley (“Intermission”) expect a welcome U.S. reception on par with some of the better films of Mike Leigh and Ken Loach?

Catch it: Garfield, who was so unmemorable in Robert Redford’s political dud “Lions for Lambs,” proves to be a real star here. The entire film rests on his slender yet capable shoulders and he makes Jack a troubled character worth rooting for. Garfield’s work is a thrilling portrait of a young man reconnecting with life, from the unabashed joy he displays dancing in a nightclub to his cautious courtship of Michelle (Lyons is equally terrific).

Skip it: If you’re only going to laugh at the pop culture knowledge Jack lacks from being locked up throughout his adolescence. The poor guy doesn’t know what DVDs are.

Bottom line: A haunting and emotionally powerful story of the struggle for redemption in a world that doesn't put much value in the concepts of rehabilitation or "innocent until proven guilty." If that makes "Boy A" sound like a tough movie to sit through, it's anything but. Lovingly photographed, achingly romantic and memorably acted by Garfield in a breakout role, it's a small movie worthy of a large audience.

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