Handsome Devil (film)

Handsome Devil
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJohn Butler
Written byJohn Butler
Produced by
  • Rebecca O'Flanagan
  • Robert Walpole
  • Claire McCaughley
  • Sarah Gunn
Starring
CinematographyCathal Watters
Edited byJohn O'Connor
Music byJohn McPhillips
Production
company
Treasure Entertainment
Distributed byIcon Film Distribution
Release dates
  • 11 September 2016 (2016-09-11) (TIFF)
  • 21 April 2017 (2017-04-21) (Ireland)
Running time
95 minutes
CountryIreland
LanguageEnglish
Box office$129,391[1]

Handsome Devil is a 2016 Irish coming-of-age comedy-drama film written and directed by John Butler. It centres around Ned (Fionn O'Shea), an ostracised teenager at an elite, rugby-obsessed, all-boys boarding school in Ireland. Ned's unlikely friendship with his new roommate Conor (Nicholas Galitzine), the school's star rugby player, is tested by those around them. The film features themes of homosexuality, while examining hypocrisy and snobbery in the Irish private school system. It was shot on location in Castleknock College,[2] and is based on Butler's own experiences attending Blackrock College in the 1980s.[3]

Handsome Devil premiered in the Contemporary World Cinema section of the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival and was released in cinemas in Ireland on 21 April 2017 by Icon Film Distribution. The film received critical acclaim, winning the award for Best Irish Feature of 2017 from the Dublin Film Critics' Circle. It also earned four nominations at the 2018 Irish Film and Television Academy (IFTA) Awards, including Best Feature Film; and the Best Single Drama Award at the annual Celtic Media Festival in 2018.

  1. ^ "Handsome Devil (2016)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
  2. ^ "Handsome Devil – Handsome College". Castleknock College Union. 21 April 2017. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
  3. ^ Mullally, Una (18 February 2017). "Blackrock boy meets Blackrock boy: Being 'gay and into sport' at an elite Dublin rugby school". The Irish Times. Retrieved 21 March 2020.