When a police informer is found murdered on the property of a small school dedicated to desegregated education on the southern side of the border, the school’s directors – a Protestant matron (Frances Tomelty) and an ex-priest (Alan Devlin) – become suspects. Also implicated is Benny (Marc O’Shea), a seventeen year-old delinquent who has found refuge at the school only to get caught up in the maze of conflict created by the mix of politics and religion. A timely opportunity to reappraise this film in the light of ongoing revelations about policing in Donegal.
‘It is … about identity and democracy, about private emotions and public survival. ‘High Boot Benny’ is an allegory on a conflict which has produced more deception than truth.’ – Joe Comerford
(1993, 82mins)