Summary
A challenging but powerful Scottish short film with more bad language per minute than perhaps any you’ve seen, but you won’t see a better modern-day kitchen sink drama.
The most dysfunctional family in the world has nothing on the cast of Boys Night. With a drunken father and a manic mother, son Reece is left trying to escort his abusive father home.
As father and son wander in the night, we get a glimpse of the complicated relationship between the “boys” of the title. Different encounters on the journey lead to Reece seeing his drunken father at his worst, and the final return home brings no resolution to either party.
Written and directed by James Price, this short film set in Glasgow is a stark and undiluted slice of life that reflects what is probably a common social problem.
Father Davy, played with conviction by Cameron Jack, is the sort of drunk you may have encountered in your local after hours. Aggressive, scary, yet often funny, he reminisces about happier times, and no doubt longs that he could return to his own private golden age. Son Reece, played brilliantly by Kyle Gordon, takes the role of the adult, embarrassed by his father’s actions, but promoted to keeper status, to get his dad up the road.
The film itself is semi autobiographical, based on a real event from the director’s youth. Premiering at last year’s Edinburgh Film Festival, the piece went on to worldwide festivals, picking up various awards but was never shown on the BBC as the company had trouble with the language used, especially by young Reece.
Anyone South of the border, and beyond, may have trouble with the strong Scottish accents.
Price manages to make us hate and love Davy in the film’s short run time. With more bad language per minute than possibly any other piece of film you have ever seen, Boys Night is a challenging view, but as far as modern-day kitchen sink drama goes, you won’t see a better one. Seek it out.
