Boychoir (film)
| Boychoir | |
|---|---|
 Teaser poster | |
| Directed by | François Girard |
| Produced by |
Carol Baum Judy Cairo Jane Goldenring |
| Written by | Ben Ripley |
| Starring |
Dustin Hoffman Kathy Bates Debra Winger |
| Music by | Brian Byrne |
| Cinematography | David Franco |
| Edited by | Gaetan Huot |
Production company |
Informant Films |
| Distributed by | Mongrel Media |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 103 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $1.8 million[2] |
Boychoir is a 2014 American drama film directed by François Girard and written by Ben Ripley.[3] The film stars Dustin Hoffman, Kathy Bates, Debra Winger, Josh Lucas and the American Boychoir School.[4]
Plot
Stetson Tate is a 12-year-old student who is upset and gets in trouble. His single mother dies, after which his father brings him to an elite music academy, the fictional National Boychoir Academy as a boarding school, because Stet can sing well, and because the father has a new wife and two daughters, and keeps it from them that he has a son from another woman. Stet is admitted due to his talent but also the generous amount of money the father pays them.
Stet does not fit in very well, because the other pupils are privileged children, and because Stet is not disciplined enough for some of the staff. However, he works hard and becomes one of the best singers, which allows him to join tours.
Stet's family receives tickets, anonymously sent by the academy, for an important performance of the choir. The father does not want to go because of his secret, but the others want to go, so the father feels forced to go with them. After the concert he decides to transfer Stet to a school in Switzerland, but Stet, encouraged by staff member Carvelle, refuses to go, after which Carvelle threatens the father to expose his secret, and the father keeps Stet at the school. The father tells his family, and his wife accepts this. Stet starts living with them.
Cast
- Dustin Hoffman as Carvelle[3]
- Kathy Bates as Headminister[3]
- Debra Winger as Ms. Steel[5]
- Garrett Wareing as Stetson "Stet" Tate[5]
- Eddie Izzard as Drake[5]
- Kevin McHale as Wooly[5]
- Josh Lucas as Gerard[5]
- Joe West as Devon[5]
- River Alexander as Rafael "Raffi" Abrams[5]
- Grant Venable as Andre[5]
- Janine DiVita as Sally[6]
Production
Hoffman stars in Boychoir as the choir master Carvelle, with Bates as the school's headmistress; the director is François Girard with a script by Ben Ripley. Originally, the cast was to include Alfred Molina, but he left the project.[3] In February 2014, Debra Winger, Eddie Izzard, Kevin McHale, Josh Lucas, and newcomers Garrett Wareing, Joe West, River Alexander, and Grant Venable joined the cast.[7] Wareing plays a young man who joins a boys choir; Winger plays the boy’s Odessa, Texas school principal; Izzard, replacing Alfred Molina, will play Drake, the choir master’s right-hand at the school; Lucas plays the boy’s estranged father. McHale portrayed a young music teacher who champions the boy and West, Alexander and Venable play other boys in the chorus.[5]
Filming
Principal photography began in February 2014 in New York City and in Stamford, New Haven, and Fairfield, Connecticut, some at Fairfield University.[3][8]
Release
Boychoir premiered at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival on September 5, 2014 before receiving a limited release in the United States on April 3, 2015.
Hallmark Cards subsequently bought the distribution rights to air the film on its Hallmark Hall of Fame program. Boychoir was retitled Hear My Song and was planned to air on CBS on April 16, 2016.[9] However, on April 13, 2016, the premiere was cancelled at the last minute.[10]
Reception
Boychoir received mixed reviews from critics. On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a 52% rating based on 33 reviews for an average rating of 5.3/10. The consensus states: "Boychoir rests heavily -- and not always comfortably -- on the shoulders of Dustin Hoffman, whose typically excellent work isn't always quite enough to compensate for an overly predictable drama."[11] On Metacritic, the film holds a 51 out of 100 rating based on 10 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[12]
Soundtrack
- Tallis - Spem in Alium
- Britten - Balulalow from Ceremony of Carols
- Handel - Ode for the Birthday of Queen Anne
- Handel - Hallelujah from The Messiah
- Handel - Zadok the Priest
- Fauré - Pie Jesu from Requiem
- Groban - The Mystery of Your Gift
References
- ↑ "BOYCHOIR (PG)". British Board of Film Classification. December 17, 2014. Retrieved December 17, 2014.
- ↑ "Boychoir (2014)". The Numbers. Retrieved August 29, 2015.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "Dustin Hoffman To Star In 'Boychoir'; Alfred Molina, Kathy Bates Round Out Cast". deadline.com. 30 October 2013. Retrieved 25 February 2014.
- ↑ Debruge, Peter. "Toronto Film Review: 'Boychoir'". Variety. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Kilday, Gregg (24 February 2014). "Debra Winger and Eddie Izzard Join 'Boychoir'". hollywoodreporter.com. Retrieved 25 February 2014.
- ↑ "Playbill".
- ↑ Kilday, Gregg (24 February 2014). "Debra Winger and Eddie Izzard Join 'Boychoir'". hollywoodreporter.com. Retrieved 25 February 2014.
- ↑ Dunne, Susan (13 February 2014). "Dustin Hoffman To Film 'Boychoir' In Connecticut". courant.com. Retrieved 25 February 2014.
- ↑ Malone, Michael (2016-03-03). "Dustin Hoffman, Kathy Bates Star in Hallmark Movie on CBS | Broadcasting & Cable". Broadcastingcable.com. Retrieved 2016-11-19.
- ↑ "Why CBS Pulled the Plug on Hallmark Movie Starring Two Oscar Winners | TVWeek". www.tvweek.com. Retrieved 2016-04-14.
- ↑ "Boychoir". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved September 15, 2015.
- ↑ "Boychoir". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved August 29, 2015.
External links
- Boychoir at the Internet Movie Database
- Boychoir at Rotten Tomatoes
- Boychoir at Metacritic