When he gets home after a year in jail, Brett Sprague, one of three brothers, discovers that plenty has changed. Chao reigns in the Sprague home as their mother, Sandra, makes a stand against her sons' behaviour. George, Sandra's current lover, steps between Sandra and Brett at the height of a drunken rage and is flattened by Brett. Sandra orders her sons out of the house. Rejected by their respective girlfriends and their mother, the Sprague boys are united in a futile rage against the lot of them. Brett leads his brothers off into the night. Wound back through the story is the aftermath of that night in the form of flash-forward scenes.
The Boys was adapted from a highly successful stage play. Woods says he is not usually interested in time tricks, "but the play had a wonderful way of getting into the back stories and the future stories," he says. The first time he read the play, he felt "it was an Australian story that had to be told. We tend to turn away from some unsavoury aspects of the community, but this is the inside story of a family in crisis. Of three boys on the day before a nasty crime takes place, of which they are accused."
Woods aims to achieve a combination of documentary-style naturalism with the edge of a thriller. Producers Robert Connolly (who also produced the play) and John Maynard have brought together the right elements here to make The Boys one of the most powerful, observant and artistically satisfying Australian films ever made. Andrew L Urban

Synopsis

Making his feature debut, director Rowan Woods was surrounded by a crew also making their first feature - but who had worked with him on "hundreds" of the short films Woods had made in a 10-year career - even before going to film school.
But Woods is in good hands, in the form of award-winning producer John Maynard (Vigil, The Navigator, Sweetie), whose company, Arenafilm, produced The Boys, a drama based
on a highly successful stage play, which won several awards. Woods aims to achieve a combination of documentary-style naturalism with the edge of a thriller.
The producer of the play, Robert Connolloy, is also producer of the film, and sees the basic story as a response to a series of crimes involving women plucked from the street.
On his return home after a year in jail, Brett Sprague, one of three brothers, discovers things have changed and his insecurities build. Chaos reigns in the Sprague home as their mother, Sandra, makes a stand against her sons' behaviour. George, Sandra's current lover, steps between Sandra and Brett at the height of a drunken rage and is flattened by Brett. Sandra orders her sons out of the house. Rejected by their respective girlfriends and their mother, the Sprague boys are united in a futile rage against the lot of them. Brett leads his brothers off into the night. The aftermath of that night, in the form of flash-forward scenes, unfolds through the story.
Woods says he is not usually interested in time tricks, but, he says, "the play had a wonderful way of getting into the back stories and the future stories." The first time he read the play, he felt "it was an Australian story that had to be told. We tend to turn away from some unsavoury aspects of the community, but this is the inside story of a family in crisis, of three boys on the day before a nasty crime takes place, of which they are accused."

(Director) Rowan Woods (Script) Stephen Sewell, based on the play by Gordon Graham (Cast) David Wenham, Toni Collette, John Polson, Lynette Curran (Running time) 85 minutes