•• BOYS GRAMMAR ••
from the short film BOYS GRAMMAR by Dean Francis

a short film by Dean Francis 
2005 | 8 mins | Australia 

Matt Levett .... Gareth 
Tom O'Sullivan .... Nick 
Anthony Phelan .... Gareth's Dad Robert 
Daniel Feuerriegel .... Ben 
Adam J Yeend .... James 
Jai Courtney .... Alex 
Andrew Threlfall .... Steven 
Matthew Gerathy .... Jason 

Boys Grammar 
a shockingly realistic work that 
addresses the issues of male rape 
and ritualised hazing 

Available on DVD as part of the 
Picture This! catalogue 
www.picturethishomevideo.com 
- ref. Boys Briefs 3 
  And here there's no way of avoiding the issue, for caught with a book devoted to the male physique, gay boy Gareth is given a lesson he won't forget by a bunch of hetero jocks who led by Nick force him to the floor face down, legs apart, whereupon he is subjected to the brutal act of anal violation. Only is the man subjecting Gareth to rape makeshift dildo style, truly homophobic or covering up his own long suppressed sexual desires?

Not for the faint-hearted, this well-executed yet unsettling short was made to draw attention to acts of violence that habitually go under the guise of 'rites of passage,' so-called initiation rituals that begin in the name of good clean fun, but often end with permanent mental or physical scarring. In depicting such, Francis has gone for the jugular and delivered a shockingly realistic work, not only given the severity of the central shower rape scene, but by highlighting ritualised hazing that I dare say is as widespread in Australian boarding school life, as it is in many a private educational institution around the world.

That the cast and inparticular Matt Levett as Gareth and Tom O'Sullivan as Nick deliver strong performances underline their commitment to a work that proved too controversial for many a film festival, with its screening at the 2005 Auburn International Film and Video Festival for Children and Young Adults having almost caused the event to be shut down. Then again, male rape is a serious subject and one that few features, let alone shorts, have had the courage to address.

That this short is based on a true story, namely a series of reports in the Sydney media concerning physical abuse at a private boys school, cannot help but make it an all the more pressing work. Yet somehow screenwriter Rozlyn Clayton-Vincent has managed to turn an act of sexual violation around and deliver a twist in the closing reel of a piece that by its very nature, makes for uncomfortable and yet poignant viewing.
Copyright 2008 David Hall
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