The Young Poisoner's Handbook (1995)
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
- Brilliant British teen Graham comes from a dysfunctional family and lacks any sense of right and wrong. A whizz at science, he's mesmerised by poisonous concoctions and murder. After Graham poisons friends, family and co-workers, he's caught and sentenced to a psychiatric institution, and then bamboozles his shrink into thinking he's cured. Benjamin Ross directs this darkly comic tale based on a true story.
- Actors:
- Hugh O'Conor, Antony Sher, Tobias Arnold, Ruth Sheen, Roger Lloyd-Pack, Norman Caro, Dorothea Alexander, Charlotte Coleman, Paul Stacey, Samantha Edmonds, Robert Demeger, Jack Deam, Peter Pacey, Joost Siedhoff, Vilma Hollingbery, Frank Mills, Rupert Farley, Dirk Robertson, Chris Lawson, Malcolm Sinclair
- Directors:
- Benjamin Ross
- Producers:
- Caroline Hewitt, Rainer Kölmel, Peter McAleese, Cameron McCracken, David Redman, Carole Scotta, Eric Stonestrom, Sam Taylor, Matthew Wilson
- Writers:
- Jeff Rawle, Benjamin Ross
- Aka:
- Den unge giftmördarens handbok
- Genres:
- Comedy, Drama
- Awards:
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Reviews (1) of The Young Poisoner's Handbook
Mad Science, Mild Film - The Young Poisoner's Handbook review by griggs
Tone is the problem. Or rather, tones—plural—vying for dominance like jealous siblings. The Young Poisoner’s Handbook can’t decide whether it wants to be a sardonic true-crime character study or a grotesque farce. The result is a film that feels oddly weightless, despite all the poisoning.
Based on the life of Graham Young, it charts his journey from precocious sociopath to calculating killer, with a heavy dose of ironic detachment. But the irony feels brittle, the humour forced. The performances are fine—Hugh O’Conor does a decent job of making Graham eerie yet oddly flat—but there’s no real insight, only affectation.
The film flirts with satire, especially in the institutional scenes, but never lands a strong point. It’s too glib to be disturbing, too arch to be moving. There’s potential here—a chilling story and a killer concept—but it’s buried under tonal whiplash and a script that keeps smirking at its own cleverness.
This handbook might be better left unread.