Rising British star Thomas Turgoose continues his impressive run of form in Tom Harper’s ode to childhood insecurity, The Scouting Book For Boys. Turgoose rose to prominence in This Is England back in 2006 and followed up his award for Best Newcomer at the British Independent Film Awards with a charming comedic turn in another Shane Meadows indie, Somers Town.
Plot Outline of The Scouting Book For Boys
Turgoose plays 14 year old David, who along with his best friend Emily (Holly Grainger) is living on a campsite on the Norfolk coast where both their parents are employed. The pair are like brother and sister, never far away from each other and wile away their summer days in Norfolk’s rural surroundings. As well as spending their time in the camp’s open air pool and chasing sheep in nearby fields they wreak havoc on residents by jumping between caravan roofs and creating general mischief.
However, when Emily learns that social services have reprimanded her unsuitable mother by forcing Emily to move away and live with her father, she makes the drastic decision to runaway. David, leaping to his best pal’s aid, agrees to help Emily disappear, but what was initially just a childish cry for help soon turns nasty when the police become involved.
As the personal implications of their plan become more and more serious David is forced to rethink. In addition, a shocking revelation from Emily forces David to confront his inner most feelings, questioning whether the two have taken their stunt one step too far.
A Triumphant British Indie
On first inspection there is something cute and amiable about The Scouting Book For Boys, but it's difficult to pinpoint the origins of such likability. It's not until you delve deeper into the narrative that it becomes clear.
This little independent film, despite developing a dark undertone in its latter stages, separates itself from most stories of teenage adolescence and is rather pleasantly able to tap into a sense of childhood that is rarely seen on screen anymore.
There are initial echoes of a childhood too infrequent in modern society (or so the newscasts would have us believe). One that isn’t dominated by computer games, mobile phones and the internet, and one that isn’t littered with a social more about today’s tough inner city upbringing and gang cultures. The Scouting Book For Boys recounts long balmy summer holidays on the British coast, finding fun in the most minimal of circumstances, getting up to no good and pushing the limits of your parents’ tolerance. Even though the film's era is unclear, there's definitely a feel of the 80's and the relative childhood freedoms that those days evoke in anyone over the age of 25.
It’s this warmth of recognition that resonates throughout the film. Turgoose and Grainger portray their respective characters with a sense of innocence and frivolity that affords them, and the events of the final act - when the unforeseen twists come to fruition – heart-felt sympathy and poignancy. The duo's friendship is about the only sincere relationship either character has to cling on to amid their shared loneliness and family detachment. This film does take a dark turn, but it doesn’t share the same coarseness and depressing undertones of a gritty Ken Loach drama for instance. Instead, The Scouting Book For Boys is a much softer, but no less entertaining, take on social realist drama; wonderfully acted by two rising stars of British cinema and beautifully crafted by young director Tom harper.
If this little gem happens to be playing in a cinema near you (and there’s every chance that today’s blockbuster leviathans will swallow up as much screen time as possible from the independents) then don’t let it pass you by.
The Scouting Book For Boys Verdict: 4/5
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