THE BOYS

"A chilling, corrosive depiction of the banality of evil, Rowan Woods' powerful debut film [boasts] extraordinary performances, and an intensity that is at times almost unbearable." – David Stratton

The film that kicked David Wenham's career into overdrive, The Boys is a truly remarkable modern Australian classic, more relevant today than ever in its depiction of the systemic misogyny and violence at the heart of Australian society.

Wenham is magnetic as Brett Sprague, a seething, manipulative menace who's just spent a year in jail for a brutal assault. Released and reunited with his brothers (John Polson and Anthony Hayes), Brett is determined to reassert his place both within his family, and within the world. The result is both horrifying and all too familiar, and the journey insidiously tense thanks to a flawless cast and an unnervingly moody soundtrack from The Necks.

The first feature produced by Paper Planes (MIFF 2014) and Balibo (MIFF 2009) director Robert Connolly, The Boys was also a watershed moment in Toni Collette's rise. Adapted for the screen by Stephen Sewell and loosely inspired by the 1986 murder of Sydney nurse Anita Cobby, the film won multiple awards – including the AFI awards for Best Director, Supporting Actor and Actress and Adapted Screenplay, as well as the Film Critics Circle of Australia award for Best Film. Newly restored, and with a resurgent national conversation around violence against women, there's never been a better time to watch, or reacquaint yourself with, The Boys.

"This terrifying vision of social exclusion, male insecurity and frustrated rage builds inexorably to a controlled explosion of savagery." – Time Out London

Stephanie Bunbury will host a Q&A with Rowan Woods and Rob Connolly.