History can sometimes jump up and grab you by the balls. Or maybe, that's just your history teacher. A cheap shot perhaps but I think a fair one to some extent. Most movie require some suspension of disbelief which I freely give. But one in which an entire group of high school students is perfectly fine with the quirks their favorite history teacher has perhaps stretches it a bit far.
That said, this is an enjoyable movie. I'd read it was a bit stagey - but I really didn't notice that. Nothing like Neil LaBute's Shape of Things which felt strong on stage but forced on screen. It's hard not to like a movie with smart people and smart dialog. The more literate among us will enjoy it even more (a bit of French won't hurt either). The preternaturally well educated high school students making up the "history boys" have a level of wit that requires a deeper liberal arts education than I've had. The film follows a group of gifted students as they prepare in their last semester for Oxford entrance exams.
I've heard differing views about the underlying theme of the movie. I think you can take it as a coming of age film of a very specific sort. There's also a clear intended tension between learning for the sake of knowledge and goal driven education. But what makes it hard to see it as really making a good case for either side is the simple fact that these kids are way to smart for it to make any difference. Intellectually it's clear they're already setup for success. A bit of polishing in the pragmatics of test taking hardly seems to hurt them. It comes down to a bunch of extremely bright folks arguing the merits of engineering vs. science. At the end of the day you need 'em both.
