The Boys of St. Vincent (1992) on Netflix
TV-1419921h 33m
At St. Vincent, an orphanage in Newfoundland run by Catholic Brothers, the boys in their care are abused. Kevin Reevey, ten, runs away to escape Brother Peter Lavin, and police return him.
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- Netflix4.4/5
- IMDb7.5/102,312 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes100%
Trailer
Plot summary
In 1975, St. Vincent Orphanage in Newfoundland is run by Brother Peter Lavin. Kevin Reevey, ten years old, is one of the boys there. He tries to stay away from Lavin and runs off, but police return him to the home. When Lavin holds and caresses the boy, Kevin pulls back and says Lavin is not his mother. Lavin then beats him badly with the buckle end of his belt. Another boy, Steven Lunney, is also abused, and his older brother Brian wants to protect him. Finn, the janitor, sees Kevin's injuries and gets him to a hospital.
Cast
- Philip Dinnas Mike Finn
- Brian Doddas Steven Lunney
- Ashley Billardas Brian Lunney
- Jeremy Keefeas Mike Sproule
- Jonathan Lewisas Eddie Linnane
- Ed Martinas Tom Kennedy
- Michael Wadeas Brother MacLaverty
- Sean Tatarynas Boy of St. Vincent
Show all 20 cast
- Gabriel Allard Gagnonas Boy of St. Vincent
- Davis Grammas Boy of St. Vincent
- Christopher Millaras Boy of St. Vincent
- Daniel Pilonas Boy of St. Vincent
- Andreas Traczykas Boy of St. Vincent
- Dennis Van Hornas Boy of St. Vincent
- Ettore Zuccherosoas Boy of St. Vincent
- Sean Moremanas Boy of St. Vincent with black eye (uncredited)
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Boys of St. Vincent (1992)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- In December 1992, Ontario's Court of Justice blocked the miniseries two days before its scheduled Canadian premiere, ruling it could sway public opinion about four members of the Christian Brothers order then being tried for abuse and so impede their right to a fair trial.
- Ivan Fecan, then CBC's vice-president of arts and entertainment, appealed to the Supreme Court in late 1992, and two years later the court established a legal principle protecting free expression in a decision known as Dagenais vs. Canadian Broadcasting Corp.
- The docudrama was inspired by real events at the Mount Cashel Orphanage in St. John's, Newfoundland, one of the child sexual abuse scandals in the Roman Catholic Church.
- The CBC and the NFB partnered with Kids Help Phone so viewers could speak to a counsellor; set up because of the dearth of services for adult male survivors of abuse, the hotline fielded more than 300 calls.
- For the orphan roles the production chose boys with no prior acting experience to work alongside professionals like Henry Czerny, and prepared them with experts in child sexual abuse counselling and a psychotherapist on set.
- When A&E aired the two-part series on February 19 and 20, 1995, several scenes were edited out, including one set in a shower room and others showing verbal and physical abuse.
