Handsome Devil – Is It Worth It?

Handsome Devil is an Irish film that recently popped up on Netflix. The story follows two boys, one a social outcast who has never fitted in at his rugby obsessed school, the other, the star athlete. They form an unlikely friendship throughout the film, and we see the challenges they face.

Fionn O’Shea and Nicholas Galitzine as Ned Roche and Connor Masters

 

Cast

The main thing I loved about this film was the casting. I was originally drawn to Andrew Scott’s name as I love him in Sherlock but, every single cast member nailed their character. I’m so excited to see what both the leads go on to do, particularly Fionn O’Shea who played Ned. He perfectly captured what it means to be a social outcast, and his tone and delivery was perfect.

As the film was focused very heavily on our two leads, we don’t learn about a lot of other characters however, Sherry and O’Keeffe, the two main teachers we see in the film, are not two-dimensional at all, especially Sherry. Still can’t tell if it’s great writing or Scott’s incredible acting ability but his character has so much depth and without spoilers, the way his character develops is possibly more touching than Connor and Ned’s.

Fionn O’Shea as Ned Roche 

Plot

I’ve already briefly outlined the film’s plot but I don’t believe this is a film that can be done justice in words. The main thing I think you need to be aware of before watching this is that, yes it is an LGBT+ film, and it does that very well, most importantly it is a story about friendship and these types of tales are just as important as romances.

Soundtrack

For me, this is very important in a film, and I think maybe Handsome Devil fell a little flat, this was made up for though as the main theme of the film was “Think for a Minute” by The Housemartins. Paul Heaton is one of my favourite artists and I have so much respect for him that it did make the film just that little bit more special.

 

Is It Worth It?

This is of course the most important question and the simple answer is yes, 100% this film is a must-watch, mainly for boys (and girls) growing up as it is a great portrayal of how important it is to be yourself and not to follow the crowd. Also, it could help young teenagers discovering their identity as it shows the opposite of a boy completely happy with his sexuality compared to a boy who does whatever he can to hide who is it. Ned’s complete comfort in his own skin was so refreshing to watch, being gay was nothing to him, he didn’t treat it like a big deal at all and I absolutely loved that.

Overall, I’d probably rate it a 4.75 stars but a lot of that is down to what I love in films and it’s definitely added to my favourite films list.