Francois Girard’s Boychoir resonates deeply.
This beautifully crafted film, which opens in Canada on March 27, is the story of an 11-year-old boy from the wrong side of the tracks who pulls himself up from a life of misery with the encouragement and support of a few key players.
Stet (Garrett Wareing) and his single alcohol-addled mother live in a bleak town in Texas. Stet is boisterous and intelligent, but he’s lacking in motivation and self-discipline. Some might call his behavior anti-social. He’s a kid who needs a helping hand, and Stet’s school principal (Debra Winger) is ready to cast him a lifeline.
She invites the National Boychoir to the school, having convinced the choirmaster, Anton Carvelle (Dustin Hoffman), that Stet would be an extraordinarily fine catch. “He has an amazing voice,” she claims.
Fate brings Stet’s secret biological father (Josh Lucas) to Texas, and he takes him to the National Boychoir school back east, hoping he’ll be accepted as a student. Carvelle recognizes his talent, but has doubts about his character. These misgivings melt away and Stet is enrolled. Wareing — a new face in filmdom — delivers a first-rate performance as a troubled boy who has the potential to succeed.
At the cloistered school, Stet is shunned by all but one of the boys, who teaches him how to read music. Stet is a fast learner, a diamond in the rough. But his unorthodox behavior prompts his roommate to say, “The kid is bad news.”
Nevertheless, Will (Kevin McHale), one of Stet’s teachers, has enormous faith in him. He wants to transfer Stet from the “training” to the “touring” choir, which performs across the nation and abroad. The school’s principal (Kathy Bates, in an excellent performance) is also impressed by Stet’s innate talents. “You’ve come so far, so fast,” she says by way of encouragement.
Carvelle, nicely portrayed by Hoffman, believes in Stet, too, but is wary of his impulsive streak. “Music means nothing to you,” he says at one juncture.
Carvelle’s bitter observation contains only a few grains of truth. Stet actually appreciates the opportunities he’s been handed. He gets a chance to prove himself as a soloist when he replaces Devon (Joe West), the star of the touring choir. Devon, being jealous, tries to sabotage Stet.
The film reaches a climax in a moving and defining scene during which Stet sings the difficult high D bars of Handel’s Messiah. Boychoir, uplifting and inspirational, is suffused in a corona of ethereal music that rivets you to your seat.