Boy A

Before Andrew Garfield became a beloved, web-slinging superhero character, he was also known as "Mark Zuckerberg's best friend" in The Social Network. However, Garfield first came to public attention back in 2007 with John Crowley's highly acclaimed, made-for-TV film, Boy A.

Garfield plays a young ex-convict, Jack Burridge, who is recently released from serving time in prison. He and another boy were found guilty of murdering a child when they were themselves children. Now at 24 years old, he is given a second chance in life. Jack tries to readjust his life to the outside world, under the fatherly mentorship of Terry (Peter Mullan), his parole contact and social worker. He manage to land himself a job and even fall in love with a girl, who is working at the same delivery company as him. All is going well for him, until he is thrusted into the spotlight for having saved a little girl in an accident, and everything goes downhill from there. His dark past was brought up to the public's eye and Jack has to relieve his traumatic experience as "Boy A" all over again. (Boy A is named after the fashion in which underage offenders are not identified in court other than by a letter reference - source.)

This film delves deep into the human heart in which, who are we to judge others for their past mistakes. When you see Jack's character, you won't believe he is able to do a heinous crime such as murder. Socially shy and awkward around people, Jack is like any other man who wants to redeem himself and start anew.

I personally enjoyed watching this show and it tugged at my heart-strings. The film may be a little too slow-moving at times and draggy, especially at some scenes where there isn't any dialogue or action for a whole five to ten minutes. It may not cater to audiences who want to sit through a 100-minute film such as this, but do give it a try and you'll know why Garfield won the 2008 Best Actor BAFTA TV Award for his performance.