Boy A 2008

Eric Wilson, Andrew Garfield, is released from a secure unit under the name Jack Burridge, and his past gradually unfolds through a series of flashbacks that accompany his attempt to start over. The opening chapters set a tone of quiet, careful reintegration as he tries to put distance between himself and the shadows of the past while facing the stigma that accompanies his old identity.

Early in his new life, Eric forms an uneasy friendship with Philip Craig, a troublemaker whose rough bravado hides deeper scars. Philip’s pain becomes a heavy presence around him as the two boys navigate their loneliness and need for belonging. A pivotal moment arises when Philip argues with a girl from their school in a park; what begins as a vitriolic confrontation escalates quickly, with Philip vandalizing a park sign and seizing the moment under a bridge. The film follows the consequences of that moment without pinning down the person responsible for the girl’s death, leaving the question open and heavy in the air. Both boys wind up in custody, labeled in the public eye as troublemakers who crossed lines too far.

Philip’s fate takes a grim turn, and his death—officially ruled a suicide—leaves Eric to shoulder the weight of what might have happened behind the scenes with other youths. The emotional toll of the incident haunts him as he moves through a formal process of rehabilitation and release. He is guided by a social worker, Terry, who becomes a steady, if cautious, mentor as Eric tries to reclaim a place in society. Under his new alias, Jack Burridge, Eric finds work, starts forming friendships, and dares to dream of a normal life: a steady job, companionship with a colleague named Chris, and a budding romance with an office coworker. He also demonstrates courage by saving a child in danger, a moment that solidifies his image as a local hero in the press.

A newspaper article features the two boys side by side, framing Eric as a figure of resilience and second chances. The piece catalyzes a conflict between honesty and safety: Eric wants to tell Michelle, the woman he loves, the truth about his past, but Terry warns that doing so could invite danger and cost him everything. The looming threat of a monetary reward for his capture adds a real pressure that Mars the possibility of living a quiet life. Terry, in a telling line about identity and reinvention, asserts that “Eric is history and Jack is a new person,” a sentiment that weighs heavily on Eric as he weighs disclosure against protection.

Meanwhile, Eric’s rehabilitation is complicated by those around him. His own son uncovers his true identity through newspaper clippings and online sleuthing, which strains family ties and triggers a cascade of consequences: Eric loses his job, and his close friendship with Chris cools as distance grows between them. The sense of doubt surrounding his past intensifies when Michelle goes missing, and suspicions fall on him—even as it emerges that she chose to isolate herself to cope with the revelation that Jack is really Eric. The personal stakes rise as Eric attempts to reach out to Terry again, only to hear voicemail responses that never fully answer his questions.

Feeling besieged by reporters and the pressure to disappear, Eric heads to Blackpool, where the encounter with the past becomes almost dreamlike. He may meet Michelle again, or imagine such a meeting, and she reveals that she would have understood if he had chosen honesty, offering a glimmer of reconciliation even as the truth remains tangled. The story closes with a somber, unresolved note as Eric records farewell messages for Terry and Chris before standing at the edge of a pier, facing an uncertain future with the weight of everything he has endured pressing down around him.