The Boys of St. Vincent (1992) (TV)

User Rating:

7.9/10   

Director:

John N. Smith

Writers:

Sam Grana (written by)
John N. Smith (written by)

Release Date:

1992 (Canada)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

The true story of boys being sexually abused at their orphanage ran by a religious community in Newfoundland.

Plot Keywords:

Orphanage | Priest | Police | Religious | Abuse

Awards:

10 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Henry Czerny	...	Brother Peter Lavin
Johnny Morina	...	Kevin Reevey
Brian Dooley	...	Detective Noseworthy
Philip Dinn	...	Mike Finn
Brian Dodd	...	Steven Lunny
Ashley Billard	...	Brian Lunny
Jeremy Keefe	...	Mike Sproule
Jonathan Lewis	...	Eddie Linnane
Michael Wade	...	Brother MacLaverty
Greg Thomey	...	Brother Glackin
Alain Goulem	...	Brother Glynn
Ed Martin	...	Tom Kennedy
Maurice Podbrey	...	Archbishop
Sam Grana	...	Monsignor
Aidan Devine	...	Brother Michael Davitt

Also Known As:

Le collège St. Vincent (Canada: French title)
Les garçons de Saint-Vincent (Canada: French title)

Runtime:

Germany:90 min | USA:186 min

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:18 (cut)

Filming Locations:

Montréal, Québec, Canada

Company:

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC)

Quotes:

[after learning that Kevin had gone to the police]
Peter Lavin: Have you seen Kevin?
Boys: No.
Peter Lavin: Lying little thieves! You shall not enter the Kingdom of God! Do you HEAR ME! YOUR PUNISHMENT WILL BE ETERNAL!

Movie Connections:

Followed by The Boys of St. Vincent: 15 Years Later (1993)

Deeply Disturbing, Well Acted

This is an expertly produced film that's truly scary. With its subtle, realistic acting, the situation at the orphanage comes across as chilling, nauseating, and so very, very sad. Henry Czerny gives a stunning, expertly controlled performance as the psycho priest, and what was especially interesting to me was the way in which his character was explored in Part II, set 15 years after the abuse. A dramatist I once knew said that a writer should give "every dog his day in court," meaning that it's far more effective if a villain is shown to have some redeeming qualities or is given a chance to explain their actions. (They're supposed to be actual human beings who believe in themselves and their choices, no matter how sick, after all.) This film differs from the similarly themed "The Madgalene Sisters" in that the sadistic clergy members in that film were painted as black and white monsters. Brother Lavin is clearly a torn man (he weeps while kissing the boys) with probable abuse in his own past, and he's clearly very confused about what love is and is not. This in no way makes his actions acceptable on any level, but it does bring the viewer deeper into a textured situation. I also thought it was brave for the filmmakers to not shy away from frankly depicting the scenes of abuse. The young actors are not exploited or eroticized, but you do see them in the shower with soap suds dripping down them, etc., and since this is a film about a stark sexual situation, not simply cutting away from the physicality of its world makes it all the more more powerful. (Your skin crawls but you can't stop watching, and you truly get a sense of what these orphans are going through.) It's frightening to think that orphaned children are at the mercy of twisted institutions such as this...and sadly, always will be. An extremely memorable film that you'll only want to see once.