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
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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.
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