Boychoir (2014)

After his single mother dies, a young boy with an excellent voice is sent to a prestigious choir school, and has trouble adapting to the culture of the school.

Director:

François Girard

Writer:

Ben Ripley

Stars:

Dustin Hoffman, Kathy Bates, Eddie Izzard

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Dustin Hoffman	...	Carvelle
Kathy Bates	...	Headmistress
Eddie Izzard	...	Drake
Kevin McHale	...	Wooly
Josh Lucas	...	Gerard
Debra Winger	...	Ms. Steel
Garrett Wareing	...	Stet
Joe West	...	Devon
River Alexander	...	Raffi
Sam Poon	...	Frederick
Dante Soriano	...	Fernando
Erica Piccininni	...	Debbie
Grant Venable	...	Andre
Janine DiVita	...	Sally
Tijuana Ricks	...	Mrs. Kempner

Storyline

Stet, a troubled and angry 11-year-old orphan from a small Texas town, ends up at a Boy Choir school back East after the death of his single mom. Completely out of his element, he finds himself in a battle of wills with a demanding Choir Master who recognizes a unique talent in this young boy as he pushes him to discover his creative heart and soul in music.

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Plot Keywords:

boy | choir | boy's choir | soloist | conservatory | 

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Taglines:

Find your voice. Dare to dream.

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Genres:

Drama | Music

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Japan]

Country:

USA Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 March 2015 (Singapore)

Also Known As:

Hear My Song

Filming Locations:

Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Informant Films,Informant Media

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Sissy Spacek was originally scheduled to play the role of Ms. Steel.

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Goofs

Most of the music in this film is altered from its original versions, in some cases ending up dramatically different. Handel's Coronation Anthem, "Zadok the Priest", for example, is sung for about sixteen bars, when the audience suddenly applauds, some four or five minutes before the authentic piece would have been finished. Very few of these modifications were noted in the credits as "arranged by . . ." Speaking of poor Handel, his name is listed in the credits several times (the film score uses several of his works) as "Georges Friedrich Handel". Why would the French spelling of "George" be used? Handel was German, writing most of his music in England and Ireland. (Even the French-language Wikipedia page lists him as George, with the German alternative of Georg also noted.) And the reference to his "Alleluia" from Messiah borders on criminal. Everyone knows - or certainly should know in a production like this that strives to appear "classical" - that the piece was titled "Hallelujah" in every creditable published edition.

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Quotes

Master Carvelle: Your clock is ticking kid.
Stet: Well your clock is ticking too old man.

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Connections

Features It's a Wonderful Life (1946)

User Reviews

A simple sweet story! Don't go looking for anything more and you should find some enjoyment out of it!

This film has been unfairly bashed by a lot of critics because of it's lack of originality. My take on this is the subject matter cannot go in that many directions. You can find similarities in every films about choir boys. Heck even the hit cult French film "The Chorist is far from original and recycle story lines from films that came before it. In most of these films you will get a trouble boy or boys who gets his or their life changed by his or their new found love of singing. This film is no different and if you are aware of that before going into it you will see the good point of that film rather then the fact that it is a very familiar story. Young and troubled Stet (Garrett Wareing) is sent to a Choir school by his father he never met before (Stet is a secret son,the product of a one night stand) following the death of his junkie mother. Things start roughly as Stet is accepted via bribe by his father desperate to put his son somewhere so he can be back to his real family. This causes some students and teachers to only see Stet as a charity case with no real musical talent.However Stet determination pays off and the main teacher Mr Carvelle (Dustin Hoffman) finally start noticing that their might be more to the boy then meet the eye. So yes pretty straightforward story and yes it sound like a TV movie from lifetime but you know what it has a good heart and all the actors seems to really enjoy themselves. Kathy Bates as the overworked headmistress ,Eddy Izzard as a competitive teacher , Kevin McHale as the teacher who first notice Stet's talent along with Hoffman creates a very interesting dynamic and they breath life to the school. Garrett Wareing is easy to root for as Stet , he his misunderstood and a victim of his upbringing.The actor convey that sense of wanting to break free from the tag everybody has placed on him all his life and he convey a quiet sort of will power and maturity really well. The only thing that bothered me is Stet's relationship with his father felt rushed and underdeveloped and they wrapped this storyline conveniently.It is a shame as it was intriguing and it could have been explored a lot more. With that said , listen ! Yeah this films has received a lot of bad review for being too "Simple" but people who are interested in theses type of films should not be looking for "Interstellar" they should be looking for a sweet little heart warmer with excellent music and songs and this film do that! (The singing is AMAZING) !!! A perfect little film to watch on a rainy Sunday. I give it a 8 out of 10.