Handsome Devil (film)

The film is set at an elite rugby-obsessed all boys boarding school in Ireland modelled on Castleknock and Blackrock, and is seen through the eyes of Ned, an ostracised student at the school.[10][11] He seems to be the only student there who does not enjoy rugby. A new student arrives at the school, Conor, who is Ned's roommate and a star rugby player. Though the two are initially wary of each other, they soon form a close friendship, with a particular interest in music. The new English teacher, Mr. Sherry, also arrives at the school, who, though stern, is encouraging towards Ned and Conor. It is revealed throughout the film that the school generally encourages homophobic behaviour, particularly by the students and the rugby coach, Pascal.

During a night out celebrating with the rugby team, Conor sees Mr. Sherry with his male partner at a gay club and understands that he is homosexual. At the same time, Ned realises that Conor himself is gay after seeing him in the same gay club. Pascal sees the two of them talking with each other and becomes worried that Mr. Sherry's influence will have a negative effect on Conor, his most valuable player.

Ned and Conor decide to perform a musical piece at the local elementary school's variety show, at the encouragement of Mr. Sherry. Pascal and the rest of the rugby team discover that Conor was kicked out of his former school for repeatedly getting into fights with those who discovered that he was gay, and uses it as blackmail, insinuating that if he does not pick different friends, his secret will be revealed. As a result, Conor does not turn up to the variety show performance, much to Ned's dismay. Ned turns up to an event with the rugby team, where Conor shoves him away in front of the entire team.

Angry and frustrated, Ned outs Conor in front of the entire school during a rugby rally. Ned is expelled and Conor runs away.

As the final match approaches, Conor is still missing. Ned knows where to find him and brings him back to the stadium, where they convince Pascal that he can still be gay and a good rugby player, and that Conor is not ashamed of his sexuality, despite that being the case in the past. The team eventually wins the final of the Leinster Schools Senior Cup. Ned returns to the school and wins the English writing competition using the story of his friendship with Conor.

• Fionn O'Shea as Ned Roche
• Nicholas Galitzine as Conor Masters
• Andrew Scott as Dan Sherry
• Moe Dunford as Pascal O'Keeffe
• Michael McElhatton as Walter Curly
• Ruairi O'Connor as Weasel
• Ardal O'Hanlon as Donal Roche
• Amy Huberman as Natalie Roche

• "My Perfect Cousin" by The Undertones
• "Sucking It Out" by The Shaker Hymn
• "Thirteen" by Big Star
• "Desire As" by Prefab Sprout
• "Think for a Minute" by The Housemartins
• "It's Yours" by David Kitt
• "Obscurity Knocks" by Trashcan Sinatras
• "The Russians Are Coming" by Val Bennett
• "Go or Go Ahead" by Rufus Wainwright

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 83% based on 46 reviews, with an average rating of 6.59/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Handsome Devil offers a charming, well-acted variation on the coming-of-age story with a few fresh topical twists."[12] Metacritic gives the film a weighted average rating of 60 out of 100, based on 6 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[13]

• Handsome Devil at IMDb
• Handsome Devil at Rotten Tomatoes