An abundance of caffeine and free booze are being consumed faster than they’re being served which means it’s that time of year again: Edinburgh Film Festival. And kicking it all off is Boyz In The Wood – think Stand By Me on crack and set in Scotland and you’re on the right track.
Forced into the Scottish highlands to complete the coveted Duke of Edinburgh award or face expulsion from school, best friends Dean (Rian Gordon), Duncan (Lewis Gribben), DJ Beatroot (Viraj Juneja) and newcomer to the group Ian (Samuel Bottomley) find their Highland hillwalk go awry when they’re hunted down by an old couple not best pleased by their trespassing.
See also: Papi Chulo review [SFF]
Within the opening moments, it’s clear what kind of film Ninian Doff’s razor-sharp directorial debut wants to be. We’re given an overview of what the DofE award actually is through a superbly over-the-top PSA before we’re introduced to the motley gang of misfits the narrative revolves around; we find out they’re having to tackle the outdoors after one of them tried to “blow up his shite” but ended up burning down the whole toilet block instead. So they set off into the woods and the irreverent and gleefully absurd stage is set for the wacky, dark and off-kilter trip down the drug-infused rabbit hole that follows. And it’s a blast. Doff’s writing is exceptional; the humour flies thick and fast and this film is utterly hysterical from its opening moments. The camaraderie between the boys and their back-and-forth lends itself to plenty of great comedic moments, as well as those of heart, and the four performers have great chemistry together; their friendship feels genuine and whilst the performances themselves don’t exactly scream Academy-Award, there’s something endearing – and real – about the rough-around-the-edges work they give.
The characters themselves slip into archetypes and there isn’t a huge amount of depth to them beneath the surface; whilst he excels on a comedic front, the screenplay is a little weak in terms of story, character and even thematically. The film does take on a bit of a political agenda in its final moments but it feels so forced and comes off so contrived and heavy-handed that it doesn’t land at all in the slightest – even the gag that accompanies it feels stifled. However, Boyz in the Wood is the kind of the film that doesn’t necessarily need to boast much else beyond sheer entertainment – it certainly delivers that in spades. This foul-mouthed, raucous debut is a concoction of tones and genres; it’s an amalgamation of Stand By Me, Attack the Block and Hunt for the Wilderpeople with some thriller elements thrown in for good measure and all whilst on a dose of LSD. The result? Expectedly anarchic. Boyz in the Wood is rough around the edges but it’s pulled off with such heart and aplomb that you can’t help but get wrapped up in this hilarious, viciously entertaining and outright insane ride that makes for a thunderous directorial debut.
Boyz In The Wood was reviewed at EIFF 2019.
