1995 Directed by Benjamin Ross
Graham Young is a teenage misfit living in suburban London in the 1960s. He hates his stepmother but loves chemistry, and the two impulses unite in a wicked plot to slowly poison her. After she dies, he's found guilty and sent to a psychiatric hospital, where an idealistic doctor thinks he can be cured.
Hugh O'Conor Antony Sher Ruth Sheen Roger Lloyd Pack Charlotte Coleman Paul Stacey John Thomson Jack Deam Charlie Creed-Miles Robert Demeger Tobias Arnold Norman Caro Dorothea Alexander Samantha Edmonds Peter Pacey Joost Siedhoff Vilma Hollingbery Frank Mills Rupert Farley Malcolm Sinclair Hazel Douglas Arthur Cox Jean Warren Simon Kunz Frank Coda Tim Potter Cate Fowler John Abbott David Savile
Bavaria Film and Television Fund Eurimages British Screen Productions Kinowelt Filmproduktion Mass Productions Pandora Cinema Haut et Court
少年落毒事件簿, グレアム・ヤング毒殺日記, Das Handbuch des jungen Giftmischers, Le Manuel d'un jeune empoisonneur, Egy fiatal méregkeverő kézikönyve, Il manuale del giovane avvelenatore, O Livro Secreto do Jovem Envenenador, Настольная книга молодого отравителя, Den unge giftmördarens handbok
USA
France
France
USA
Almost a Shakespearean tragedy disguised as a dark comedy. The film's visuals may be slightly revolting, but the main character's development is solemn, bittersweet, and poignant in its own way. The doctor was correct: in his haste to achieve something truly beautiful from a scientific standpoint, Graham falls prey to a dangerous path of serial murders due to his mental instability. Young genius psychopath, you've been damned. Hugh O'Conor delivers an outstanding performance.
It appears to be another regular classy British poisoning story, but please listen to Purcell's omnipresent mourning solemnity and Debussy's soothing magnetism. Their music is featured in the film as an important part of Graham's life odyssey. I don't condone his actions or motives, but I can't deny that domestic crimes usually sound very different. It's not like a classic.
This is a film so deep in dark humour and yet so disturbing, making you laugh but at the same time making you stop as you are left thinking "should I be laughing at this?". The Young Poisoner's Handbook is based on a true story, Graeme Young grows up in a dysfunctional family in Britain , he's supremely interested in chemistry, decides that he's going to rule the world by poisoning people. Hugh O'Conor is superb as Graeme, rarely showing any emotion in the things he does, he's got quite the acting range in this film, I just found him spellbinding to watch. Watching this film had me comparing it to A Clockwork Orange as it both features voiceovers by the main character, they both are people who are young and violent individuals who get sent to psychiatric wards and get treatment. It also has the title song used for Clockwork. This is an underrated film and definitely underseen.
Graham Young war ein Serienmörder, der im England der 1960er Jahre aktiv war. Wiederkehrende Tatwaffe: Vergifteter Tee. Hört sich erstmal wie ein stereotypischer Brite mit sehr trockenem Humor an, war aber tatsächlich eine real existierende Person. THE YOUNG POISONER'S HANDBOOK nimmt sich nun diesen Serienmörder an und situiert seine Geschichte - offensichtlich fiktiv hinzugedichtet - in ein Oberstufen-Setting. Ob solch ein Transfer eines realen Falls in eine schwarze Komödie gerechtfertigt ist, wäre eine Diskussion für sich. Betrachtet man aber den Film für sich, so fällt er in die Kategorie: "Gute Grundidee, die unterhalten könnte, nur wird daraus nix sonderliches gemacht." Da fängt er so bitterböse an und verliert sich leider nach dem ersten Drittel in Gefilde der Belanglosigkeit. Schade drum.
A charming dark comedy about a compusive poisoner. Correctly depicts how terrifying and manipulative precocious youngsters are. There is some weird attempt at deepness with the "Newton's diamond" stuff, trying to make the poisoning impulse akin to the alchemist's drive, that doesn't work as well as the straight dark humor. The ending is a bit rushed with his exposure happening too quickly for my tastes and then it barreling to a kind of pat conclusion. Otherwise this is a very enjoyable watch, especially if you like a nice 70's Brit rock needle drop.
I have to give extra credit to the makeup team here. While there are the obvious elements of showing poison victims looking terrible(very well done) we also…
Here’s one for fans of A Clockwork Orange (it even uses Purcell’s “Music for the Funeral of Queen Mary,” otherwise known as the “Title Music” from Clockwork). Hugh O’Conor, who played the young Christy Brown in My Left Foot, looks a bit here like John Cusack with Peter Lorre’s buggy eyes. As Graham Young, a British kid with an unnatural interest in chemistry, O’Conor lets those eyes pop open wide as he stares without malice at the results of his work: unsuspecting friends and family members expiring slowly and painfully from poison.
As Graham “experiments” dispassionately, we hear his narration explaining how everything is going according to plan. This first feature by Benjamin Ross is striking for its consistent perverse…
I have always been fascinated by films about serial killers.This chilling cousin of A Clockwork Orange is two things at once, a terrific black comedy as well as
a character study of a disturbed individual.The soundtrack which is a mix of western classical and rock is a highlight.Truly a gem worth seeking out.
The real life story of Graham Young, the British serial killer known as 'the teacup murderer' is loosely adapted with a jet black comic hue for the screen by director Benjamin Ross and actor Jeff Rawle.
Young's crimes are another example of one of those intriguing post war affairs that remind you that you never quite know what goes on behind the net curtains of suburbia. Born in Neasden (where else?) Young is now thought to have been autistic and developed a deep and morbid fascination with death and poisons from an early age. In 1961, he began secretly experimenting with the poison antimony on his family and school friends and, in the following year, his experiments bore fruit when…
One of a kind disturbing black comedy loosely adapting the real life story of serial killer Graham Young, a bright and awkward young man born into the British lower class too smart for his own good and too smart for the people around him, whom he effortlessly manipulates, experiments on and kills without a shred of conscience. Cleverly portraying the details of his slayings, the film follows his compulsive documenting of the substances and effects of the poisons he uses on his family members and later workmates, all oblivious to his deviousness under the shining veneer of politeness. While far from historically accurate there's sly nods to Graham Young's actual ideology (i.e. the endgame of his experiment termed "The Final…
Graham (Hugh O'Conor) has a fascination for chemistry because understanding the subject reveals every day mysteries that most people take for granted. But his passion is of no value in his family. He lives with his father (Roger Lloyd-Pack), stepmother (Ruth Sheen), and sister (Charlotte Coleman), all of whom consider Graham a pest who messes around with their belongings. In order to become a great scientist, Graham figures he needs an experiment that will set him apart from the rest. This plan involves introducing poison to the greatest number of people in a public place--a mass murder. But first, he needs a guinea pig: his stepmother.
"The Young Poisoner's Handbook," written by Jeff Rawle and Benjamin Ross, deals with its…
This was the cheekiest serial killer movie I’ve ever seen .
Also the soundtrack 👌
