Why did I choose this film?
Since I have read, a “Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens when I was young, I known immediately that English art was for me. in my opinion there’s a bigger place for feelings and emotions English art, that, leads me to choose more Britannic films than French films . later, I was a social worker and discovered the cinema of Ken Loach (My sweet sixteen, The angel’s share, Birdy, I Daniel Blake) those movies are considered as documentary-cinema. You see the reality of life of some English teenagers or poor, showing their insights and the empowerment they can have to fight against their problems, all of this without being too dramatic. I love this cinema and I would like to share with you this kind of film: Boy A (not from Ken Loach) but with same approach. If you want to see others similar movies, you can go to the site of Dinard’s British film festival who can guide you to discovers British movie: www.festivaldufilm-dinard.com
Movie’s resume:
It’s a Britannic movie drama by John Crowley adapted from a Jonathan Trigell’s novel.
Jack live with his oncle in a small Britannic town. But Jack has a secret: He’s not Jack, it’s not this real name. And Terry is not his oncle but his probation officer. When he was a child, jack killed (by accident or not, spectator can judge this fact) a little girl with his friend Phillip. his friend Phillip who could not live with this commit suicide. Later on with his “oncle” help Jack tried to begin a new life with a job, a home and maybe a girlfriend. But after so many years imprisoned for “his crime” Jack is now an adult not prepared for a normal life. However Terry his Oncle is full of hope for Jack and think he can do it. But it’s a big mistake for Jack because his crime haunts him by dreams and memories. So his psychology stability is very fragile and his secret became a burden heavier to carry on. Unfortunately, one day, when a picture of him is took in his working place appear in the newspaper, people immediately recognize him like the “killer child” and try to make him pay for what he did .
Why you should watch this movie as a future psychologist?
Do you believe in a second chance? This is a question for humanist psychologist.
On a certain way, this movie reminds us the humanist concepts developped by Carl Rogers:
- Values of good and evil: as a psychologist we are in an emotional relation based on therapeutic alliance. In jail, some psychologists wants to know what prisoners have done to help them, others don’t to build a therapeutic alliance as neutral as is possible.
In this film, we are sometimes, the family of victims, sometimes society that judge jack and sometimes the helper full of hope as Terry.
But sometimes we should let aside our worth to understand completely Jack to help him.
This is the fact of Rogers, humanist position: complete acceptation with no judgement. This is the only way as a humanist psychologist to help this person.
-This film propose us to consider jail like an isolation place who nobody can learn but everybody lose mind, increase anxiety, disability and aggressive behaviors. This is a perspective for future psychologists who want to work in jail environment: How can I help people to develop themselves (psychologically speaking) in such a place.
– Time to begin yourself/temporality: Jack’s character question us on: how to help him considering his tempo (his own rhythm). On one side we have Jack who had suffered a lack of love and education due to his emprisonnement causing that sometimes he could look childish for an eighteen years old young man. And on the other side, we can see Terry who’s very willingly pushing Jack to be a better person without respecting his temporality, this contrast show us the difficulties to understand patients with their own temporality. Furthermore, this is a real question for humanist therapist: the psychic recovery time is given by the patient and have to be respected by the therapist. Terry by going to fast, can’t give a proper listening to Jack.
To the end, this film is all about : how can i be a good helper despite difficulties?
This movie remind us Carl Roger’s book and his concept : how could i be a good helper to the customer’s autonomisation project without judging nor controlling.
Bibliography :
Rogers, C., La relation d’aide et la psychothérapie, 1942, Broché, ESF.