With his dyed hair, willowy build, and penchant for sexually ambivalent pop and rock, 16-year-old Ned (Fionn O’Shea) has never fit in at the rugby-mad boarding school his father insists he attend. Determined to simply keep his nose down and weather another year of loneliness and bullying, Ned is pleasantly surprised when he develops a friendship with his dashing new roommate, Conor (Nicholas Galitzine), a rugby virtuoso with issues of his own.

The boys bond over music and start to practice guitar together. At the encouragement of their English teacher (Andrew Scott), Ned and Conor enter a talent show at a local girls’ school. As both talent show and rugby season loom, however, the pressure on Conor to choose between manly athletic discipline and more artistic pursuits threatens to tear him apart — while Ned is increasingly tempted to betray Conor’s trust in order to save his own skin.

‘Handsome Devil’ reminds us that bravery and loyalty are not innate traits. They’re qualities we earn under pressure.

Versions of many of the key elements in Irish writer-director John Butler’s Handsome Devil are familiar, from the geek pariah to the secret gay jock, the inspirational English teacher to the homophobic rugby coach, right down to the sports match as a test of outsider self-affirmation. But the sweetness, poignancy and breezy humor of this Emerald Isle bildungsroman also make it pretty darn impossible to resist.

HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

A jaunty, joyous tale that builds to a crowdpleaser of a climax.  

SCREEN DAILY