Ned Roche (Fionn O’Shea) hates the rugby obsessed bullies at his Irish boarding school. When he’s forced to room with rugby champ Conor Masters (Nicholas Galitzine) he readies himself for war. Their eccentric teacher (Andrew Scott) forces them to work together and overcome their differences. Handsome Devil has the ingredients for a schoolboy romance. Writer/director John Butler builds a prickly platonic friendship instead. We’ll eventually learn Conor’s sexuality. Ned’s remains ambiguous. This allows for several readings of the plot. The film is tropey but entertaining. There’s an undercurrent of rage that gives it spice.

O’Shea, Galitzine and Scott continued playing interesting queer roles. For Pride month I decided to look at this early collaboration. Let us kick things off with a spoiler filled recap.

Act One: Enemies

Scene One: St. Homophobes School for Wayward Twinks
NED (social outcast): This is an essay about how I hurt my best friend. Everyone at school bullied me because I didn’t play rugby. I retaliated by becoming a judgmental priss.
CONOR (shy rugby champ): Hi. I’m your sexy sad new roommate.
WEASEL (chief bully): Don’t give our rugby star AIDS you homo!
NED: I thought rugby was a gay friendly sport. What year is this film set? No one has an iPhone but… Hey! Stop that!
(Weasel tears up Ned’s band posters. Conor does nothing.)
NED: Is that who you want to be?
CONOR: No.
(Conor breaks Weasel’s nose at rugby practice.)

Scene Two: Unconventional Class Room
NED: Nobody knows that I put song lyrics in my English essays.
ANDREW SCOTT (zany new teacher): Nobody but ME! Use YOUR own VOICE! Since you like music I’ll put you in the VARIETY show. You too, Conor. I recognize a closeted… ARTIST when I SEE one.
NED: Conor likes music? Maybe he’s not so bad. I-it’s not like I like him or anything.
(Friendship montage.)

Act Two: Friends

Scene Three: Gay Bar
NED: One night I saw Conor go into a bar for single gentlemen. I thought I was the only… outcast.
ANDREW SCOTT: CoNOR? You’re TOO young to BE here.
CONOR: Don’t tell anyone. You may enjoy character roles. But I want to play He-Man someday.
ANDREW SCOTT: It GeTs BeTtEr?

Scene Four: Obligatory Break Up
(Weasel approaches Conor in the showers.)
WEASEL: I know why you changed schools. Drop that freak or I’ll tell everyone you’re queer.
CONOR: You’re the one lurking in the showers.
(Fast forward to…)
NED: Conor, why’d you skip the show? Why don’t you tell these jocks we’re friends!?
CONOR: Because I have internalized homophobia!
(Conor shoves Ned to the ground. The evil jocks cackle.)

Scene Five: School Assembly
 (Ned refuses to sing the school anthem. A bully attacks him. Conor does nothing. Ned marches to the stage.)
NED: Your hero Conor is a poofter! (Conor flees.)
HEADMASTER HYPOCRITE: Ned you’re expelled for homophobia. And for offending the gods of rugby.
NED’s DAD: Best not. Or I’ll ask about my sons’ bruises.
NED: Thanks, Dad, for doing the bare minimum.

Act Three: Allies

Scene Six: Sailboat
NED: Conor disappeared. I found him on his father’s boat… I’m sorry Conor. You’ve got to win the Big Game.
CONOR: Why? For those homophobes?
NED: For us. “It’s our team if you’re playing on it.”
CONOR: Does that mean you’re…  
NED: Do you find the film more interesting if I’m queer or a straight ally?
CONOR: It’s odd that we haven’t kissed by now. We share a room and I’m sexy sad.

Scene Seven: The Big Game
COACH BIGOT: We don’t want a queer on our team. Right lads?
RUGBY TEAM (everyone except Weasel): Screw homophobia. We want to win.
COACH BIGOT: Don’t you dare dramatically cross the room to stand beside Conor! (Reader, they do.)
RUGBY TEAM: My captain! My captain! We are Spartacus! He had us at Hello!
NED: And so, Conor won the big game. Coach Bigot shook Conor’s hand. Andrew Scott stood up to Headmaster Hypocrite. And I wrote a school essay about my best friend who I’m not in love with.
CONOR: Sure Jan. You titled your essay “Handsome Devil.”
NED: Fair point.

THE END

Two Worlds

It was based on my own school days, actually. I went to a rugby-playing school like the one in the film, and I was really into sports, and I’m also gay. I found those things very hard to reconcile, so that was the point of origin. It’s not really autobiographical and it’s certainly not a period film, so it’s just a story about trying to be true to yourself.
John Butler, Writer and Director

Handsome Devil is a coming-of-age comedy with a feel-good ending. It can still be hard to watch. The bullying is relentless. The toxic men are raising a generation of cruel boys. Conor wins their tolerance by scoring the winning goal. What if he’d missed? And will anything improve for Ned? Not a single person apologizes for the abuse they inflicted on him.

In the 2020 film Dating Amber Fionn O’Shea played a self-loathing closet case. He befriended a confident lesbian who helped him out of the darkness. It makes an interesting contrast to his work here. If Handsome Devil is about being true to yourself, then what is Ned’s truth? If he’s straight than his outing of Conor stems from a place of privilege. If he’s queer than he’s trying to punch up, and failing miserably. The conversation on the boat is the closest he gets to coming out. But he’s not ready to commit. Tea and Sympathy took a similar path back in 1956. Does ambiguity weaken or enhance a queer story in 2016?

You can currently stream Handsome Devil on TUBI. You can find more of my reviews on The Avocado, Letterboxd and Serializd. My podcast, Rainbow Colored Glasses, can be found here.