Starter for Ten

Starter for Ten is the definition of the fresher year struggles of the awkward adolescent male placed neatly into 1985. “Brian Jackson Knows Everything” at least it would seem that way for the working class kid from Southend who has just blagged his way into studying English at Bristol University. Brian however, has a dream. His dream is to be on university challenge, it is a dream he’s had since childhood and he’s not about to let it go easily, so when the opportunity to appear on the show arises, he jumps at the chance. In the process of auditioning for the university challenge team, Brian meets Alice (Alice Eve who is possibly the hottest drama student in the whole university), and decides that he’s going to woo her using his general knowledge skills.

James McAvoy is rated as one of the “next big things” and in this film you can see why as he charismatically carries the film on Brian’s awkwardly unsure shoulders, in turn making Brian a character who all students can relate to. The film as a whole really is superb; the only let down I found was the intrusion of the boom microphone in several scenes in the film.
That said; I firmly believe that McAvoy and Starter for Ten will be strong contenders at the award ceremonies in the spring.
Like “The History Boys” before it. Starter for Ten leads the way for the British teen movie to go.