Starter For Ten Book/Film review
Having watched the film Starter for Ten (dir. Tom Vaughan, 2006) I decided to read the book by David Nicholls. I really enjoyed the film, mostly down to my being a huge James McAvoy fan, but I also enjoyed it on a much deeper level.
The film reminded me of a John Hughes 80s teen film, somewhat along the lines of St Elmo's Fire, The Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller's Day Off.... And I thought it was absolutely adorable. James McAvoy plays Brian Jackson, a young working class man who moves to university, leaving his widowed mother and school friends behind him. Whilst at university, Brian decides to join the University Challenge team, having always been a fan of the show with his late father.
Also on the team is stunningly beautiful Alice Harbinson(played by Alice Eve), and immediately Brian falls for her. One of the most touching scenes is when he takes her out for a meal, fully dressed in a dinner jacket and bow tie, despite turning up at a deserted pizza place. The effort he puts into the date suggests that he is such a sweetheart and believes in old fashioned romance. But the scene turns much more serious when Brian begins to talk about his father, finally venting out his grief and portraying his true, raw emotions. McAvoy pulls in a perfect performance here, showing innocence and vulnerability.
Also worth a mention is Rebecca Hall's portrayal of Rebecca Epstein, a passionate student who is constantly protesting about something or other. It is clear that both Rebecca and Alice are two very different girls with very different personalities, but both are equally charming and it is clear why Brian struggles between the two.
I could go on and on about the film, but that's not really why I chose to post this. I wanted to talk more about the book. (Please bear in mind that I'm not a literature expert, I'm actually a Film student, but I just wanted to discuss the book, and this will probably be the msot amateur review ever, but please forgive me!)
I thought that David Nicholl's way of writing in first person perspective really helped me to get in touch with Brian's feelings and truly understand what he was thinking. I was most impressed with the focus of the story, and instead of portraying lectures and studying, he focuses on the social aspect of university life. Having just finished my own university experience, the book has made me realise that I did not embrace my years here as I intended. I intended on going to every single lecture, spending my days reading long and impressive books, extending my cultural mind by attending theatre plays and classical concerts, and writing my thoughts down in a notebook that I would carry around at all times. Very similar to the thoughts of Brian. However, just like Brian, I found that life got in the way. Brian finds that his grades begin to drop with each assignment, instead of improving. He finds that he spends more time going out and drinking, or lying in bed thinking about a girl instead of thinking about his studies. He constantly thinks about what he SHOULD be doing, and what other people expect of him, but instead of taking the time to actually change his lifestyle, he instead spends time worrying about what others think of him. Brian is clearly a very intellectual individual, but he just finds it difficult to apply his knowledge to his studies. I think I enjoyed the book so much because I felt I could relate to him. I too know that I could have done so much better in university if I properly applied myself to my studies and spent more time reading and researching everything, but instead I spent many sleepless nights staring out the window, just wondering "What if?". I wondered what would happen if I actually did do certain things, what if I went to a different university, what if I had different friends, what if I joined in more with societies and whatnot. I spent a long time thinking about this, but never actually acted upon anything.
All in all (I am aware that this was not a proper book review, but I just wanted to reflect my feelings on the subject!) I would definitely reccommend the book to anyone who is at university, or who has been to university, as I feel sure I'm not alone. Plus the references to the 1980s also has some nostalgia for my very early childhood, I remember watching the Back to the Future films and my mum listening to Kate Bush and all those things!
