The Young Poisoner's Handbook

You don't always have to sympathize with, or even like, the main character of a film for the whole thing to work. But the "anti-hero" of "The Young Poisoner's Handbook" is far from endearing — he's a psychopath.

Told from the standpoint of Graham Young, a real-life serial killer who murdered several people in England in the '60s and '70s by poisoning them, the film is supposed to be a comedy, albeit a very dark one. However, the film's tone is so grimy and nauseating at times that it comes off as incredibly unpleasant.

Hugh O'Conor ("Da") plays Young, a 14-year-old who wants to become a great chemist — in particular, the foremost toxicologist in the world. The catch is, the only way to test his peculiar chemical theories is to poison his classmates and family members.

Those experiments ultimately lead to chronic illness and disfigurement, as well as an agonizing death, for his stepmother (Ruth Sheen). And for that crime, Graham is sent to a high-security mental hospital for the criminally insane.

After eight years in the hospital, Graham finally convinces a sympathetic psychiatrist that he has been rehabilitated and is set free. But some small frustrations at home and at work only prompt him to begin his experiments anew — on his co-workers at a photographic laboratory.

First-time director Benjamin Ross, who also co-wrote the screenplay, makes the mistake of trying to drum up some sympathy for Graham by portraying his family as cruel and nearly abusive. That still doesn't explain away the boy's actions, though.

Ross also misfires severely by trying to make the film comedic. Aside from Graham, most of the other characters are portrayed in a cartoony manner (remember, these people wind up being his victims!). He also throws in more vomiting bits (show graphically) than you'll ever see even in a Monty Python film.

Also, the scenes showing his stepmother's eventual descent into insanity and later, extremely painful death, are so realistic that they're horrifying, not funny.

What's unfortunate about the whole mess is that the performances are very good. In particular, O'Conor, who was also quite memorable as young Christy Brown in "My Left Foot," is excellent. Not many actors would be convincing playing ages 14 to 22, but O'Conor's more than up to the task.

Charlotte Coleman ("Four Weddings and a Funeral") and Sheen are similarly wasted in memorable roles as Graham's snotty sister and as his doomed stepmother, respectively.

"The Young Poisoner's Handbook" is rated R for violence, profanity, vulgarity and glimpses of some nude photos.