“Handsome Devil” is a 2016 Irish film that tells of Ned and Connor, two troubled students who attend a boarding school where rugby is revered. Ned (Fionn O’Shea) is a pretentious nerd with (supposedly) obscure musical tastes and Connor (Nicholas Galitzine) is a self conscious and uncomfortable rugby player with a passion for music. An unlikely friendship flourishes between the two, fueled in large part by the new high school English teacher Dan Sherry (played by the esteemed Andrew Scott), whose teaching methods affect the whole student body.
The film tackles various themes, always with humor and good music, from homophobia in schools to how toxic masculinity can poison relationships between young men and adults, also passing through the experience of being closeted at work.
Thanks to an impeccable cast, contagious energy, a script that avoids commonplaces and the efficient and harmonious directing by John Butler, this film manages not only to be equally amusing and moving, but also didactic without ever being condescending.