The Young Poisoner's Handbook (1995)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Benjamin Ross

Writers:

Jeff Rawle (writer)
Benjamin Ross (writer)

Release Date:

23 February 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Tagline:

Meet Graham. He's not your ordinary teenager.

Plot:

This film is based on a true story about a British teenager who allegedly poisoned family, friends, and co-workers...

Plot Keywords:

Poison | Psychiatrist | 1960s | Black Comedy | London England

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Tobias Arnold	...	Young Graham
Ruth Sheen	...	Molly
Roger Lloyd-Pack	...	Fred (as Roger Lloyd Pack)
Hugh O'Conor	...	Graham Young
Norman Caro	...	Mr. Goez
Dorothea Alexander	...	Mrs. Goez
Charlotte Coleman	...	Winnie
Paul Stacey	...	Dennis
Samantha Edmonds	...	Sue
Robert Demeger	...	Mr. Dexter
Jack Deam	...	Mick
Peter Pacey	...	Dickie Boone
Joost Siedhoff	...	Dr. Scott
Vilma Hollingbery	...	Aunty Panty
Frank Mills	...	Uncle Jack

Also Known As:

Das Handbuch des jungen Giftmischers (Germany)

MPAA:

Rated R for murders by poisoning, language and some nude photos.

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

UK | Germany | France

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Australia:MA | Finland:K-16 (video premiere) | Germany:16 | Portugal:M/12 (video premiere) | Sweden:15 | USA:R | UK:15

Company:

Bavaria Film and Television Fund

Trivia:

The movie does take some liberties: an example is that Young did not kill his Stepmother in real life -- indeed he was close and devoted to her as she had a terminal illness. However, due to his sociopathic behavior, the film seems to explore the possibility he had a hand in her death.

Goofs:

Factual errors: At the end scene, Young scratches/grinds his mother's diamond with a razor blade. It's simply impossible as steel hardness is way below that of diamonds.

Quotes:

Molly: You contaminate everything you touch. I'm going to scrub you till you are raw.

Movie Connections:

References A Clockwork Orange (1971)

Soundtrack:

Nut Rocker

The best thing since "A Clockwork Orange"

I don't know what to make of it, honestly. When I first saw it (on late night, and I stayed up till three AM watching it), I thought it was a little like "A Clockwork Orange".

Graham Young (Hugh O'Conor) I found an odd mixture of three parts: curiosity (what leads him to poisoning), clinical detachment (as he watches the results), and a longing to belong (when he tries to be normal -and fails miserably).

First he silently threatens everyone with a gruesome retaliation for the slightest things, and then charts their decline with frightful accuracy as they get sicker and sicker. After that, he retreats into his den again until something better comes along. And then he gets caught.

Then there's that uproarious scene when he's out with a girl, and he tries to get her in a conversation on disembowelment. You can almost see her turn green as he gets into stride. To him, it's an innocent thing; something he likes. For her (and for us, the audience), it's...sick.

I thought that the rehabilitation sequence was a farce. It's as ludicrous as the rest of this quirky gem of a movie, with great performances by all the actors, particularly Hugh O'Conor. He says more with his eyes than most could with their lips.

I mean, the movie is funny (not ha ha funny, though), dripping with corrosive irony. Young is all at once twisted and innocent, torn between conforming and that endless fascination with poison. The comparisons between this and "Clockwork" are almost inevitable, but unlike Kubrick's thriller, this one has a more subtle, menacing tone, for the mind rather than for the eye. It's not a laugh-out-loud film, though it's undeniably hilarious. Whatever you feel, it's kept inside.

If you're one with a sensitive stomach, suicidal tendencies, strange addictions, goody-goodies/puritans, then stay away. Otherwise, WATCH THIS FILM!