Film review: The Scouting Book for Boys

Published on Thursday 18 March 2010 18:04

THE SCOUTING BOOK FOR BOYS (15) *** DIRECTED BY: TOM HARPER STARRING: THOMAS TURGOOSE, HOLLIDAY GRAINGER, SUSAN LYNCH, STEVEN MACKINTOSH

THIS is England's Thomas Turgoose shows he's becoming quite the accomplished actor with The Scouting Book for Boys, a dark coming-of-age story set in an idyllic-from-the-outside Norfolk seaside resort.

Turgoose does strong, measured work as a 14-year-old whose feelings for his best friend Emily (Holliday Grainger) begin manifesting themselves in increasingly creepy and dangerous ways after he helps her run away from home. Hiding her in a seashore cave, Turgoose manages to subtly capture the psychological changes his character David undergoes as he transforms from a devoted kid in the painful grip of an all-consuming and unreciprocated first crush into something more akin to Emily's domineering protector, exploiting his position as her only link to the outside world. Shot with a lyrical beauty that gradually fades as David's emotions cloud his judgment, first-time director Tom Harper creates a suitably foreboding atmosphere, ensuring that even if the dramatic turns the film takes stretch credibility, the film feels like a sincere reflection of its protagonist's world.