In all honesty, I was not entirely sure what to expect from the film when it was announced it would be opening the Edinburgh International Film Festival this year, the blurb provided on the programme even states that the film ‘defies easy classification’. However, going into the film with this open mind provided me with an exciting and fantastically entertaining 90 minutes.

The film follows four teenage boys who, to the dismay of three of them, are embarking on the Duke of Edinburgh award, as they are challenged with orienteering their way through the Scottish Highlands. Yet things take a turn when they appear to be being hunted for sport by the very Duke himself (Eddie Izzard). Running parallel to this, we have two police officers played by Kate Dickie and Kevin Guthrie who begin the investigation after reports of the event are provided to them, and even here the laughs keep coming with some of the strongest comedic moments coming from these scenes in the police station.

The plot is clearly very wacky and first-time feature Director Ninian Doff constructs the film to really indulge in this wackiness. As soon as the film begins you are shown that it has a real style, a style hard not to initially compare to the work of Edgar Wright but none the less makes the film a joy to watch and keeps the pace swift.

The main attraction here has got to be the four boys (Lewis Gribben, Rian Gordon, Viraj Juneja, Samuel Bottomley) themselves. The four have such fantastic chemistry together, playing off each other brilliantly. I suspect these four new comers have a great future ahead of them, and rightfully so. James Cosmo is, although used quite sparingly, great in the small number of scenes he appears in playing a farmer in the Highlands who the boys encounter on their trek.

You may be able to tell that I am avoiding any spoilers regarding jokes in the film, some of them are so brilliantly set up that I think it would be a huge disservice to the film if I was to spoil these. Trust me, when I say the film is truly laugh out loud funny and will work for those outside of Scotland also.

Towards the end, the plot did begin to wear a tad thin for me, as the film’s themes are laid right out in front of you at one point. I would have personally preferred that it was presented a bit more subtly, yet the themes are still an important and relevant one in this current political climate.

Genuinely hilarious throughout, creatively shot and edited, and up and coming talent with amazing chemistry, ‘Boyz In The Wood’ is destined to be a smash hit with audiences.

Director: Ninian Doff
Writer: Ninian Doff
Stars: Eddie Izzard, Kate Dickie, James Cosmo
Kyle Gaffney
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