The Boys of St. Vincent

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The Boys of St. Vincent is a 1992 Canadian television miniseries directed by John N. Smith for the National Film Board of Canada. It is a two-part docudrama based on real events that took place at the Mount Cashel Orphanage in St. John's, Newfoundland, one of a number of child sexual abuse scandals in the Roman Catholic Church.

The first film, The Boys of St. Vincent, covers the sexual and physical abuse of a number of orphans by Brothers headed by Brother Peter Lavin (Henry Czerny) and its cover-up. The second film, The Boys of St. Vincent: 15 Years Later, covers the trial of the Brothers and the dealing with the events 15 years later.

Story[]

Along with Lavin, Kevin Reevey is the central figure. In the first film Reevey (Johnny Morina) is a 10-year-old abused child who tries to avoid Lavin's attentions. In the second movie, Reevey (Sebastian Spence) is a young man haunted by his abuse who still has nightmares. Lavin covers up the goings-on at the orphanage for many years, especially his own role in the abuse. Kevin runs away and when he is returned by the police he tries to reject Lavin's caresses. He is severely beaten with the buckle end of the brother's belt. A short shower-room sequence was cut when the film was first shown in the United States.

Steven Lunney (Brian Dodd) is another abused boy. He has an older brother, Brian (Ashley Billiard), at the orphanage who tries to protect him. In the second film, the brothers meet again for the first time in years. Brian (Timothy Webber), now happily married with two children, tries to help Steven (David Hewlett) when he returns to give evidence at the trial. Steven is destroyed by the defence advocate, who reveals that he abused seven-year-old boys at the orphanage when he was 16. Steven then takes his own life with an overdose of drugs. His death finally prompts Reevey to give evidence against Lavin.

Lavin remains in denial, even to his wife. His fate is left unanswered as is the question, posed by his wife at the end of the second film, as to whether he ever molested his own two young sons.

Year-end lists[]

• 2nd – Todd Anthony, Miami New Times^[1]
• 5th – Peter Travers, Rolling Stone^[2]
• 5th – Stephen Hunter, The Baltimore Sun^[3]
• Top 10 (listed alphabetically, not ranked) – Mike Clark, USA Today^[4]
• Top 10 runner-ups (not ranked) – Janet Maslin, The New York Times^[5]

See also[]

• Roman Catholic sex abuse cases
• Dagenais v Canadian Broadcasting Corp - a case before the Supreme Court of Canada that overturned a publication ban on the broadcast of The Boys of St. Vincent

References[]

External links[]

• The Boys of St. Vincent at IMDb
• The Boys of St. Vincent at National Film Board of Canada
• Canadian Film Encyclopedia