Most Helpful Customer Reviews
|
|
20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Compelling tale of brutality and transformation, July 5, 2006
In 1857 Thomas Hughes published "Tom Brown's Schooldays", which despite the unassuming title (or the sunny illustration on the current edition's front cover) is actually a bitter indictment of the brutality that Hughes saw as rampant in the 19th century British public school system. Jan Guillou's 1981 autobiographical novel, "Ondskan" -- of which "Evil" is the film version -- takes on mid-1900s Swedish boarding schools in a similar way. As with their British counterparts, at the Swedish schools it was the boys themselves who enforced the rules. The upper-classmen would act as harsh disciplinarians for the students in the lower forms, while teachers and administrators saw their duty to be only what their job descriptions entailed: teaching and administering.
As a film version of Guillou's book, "Evil" is very accomplished indeed. The main character, Erik, is a bully who after regular beatings at home at the hand of his stepfather has come to take the same violent approach with his classmates. Due to constant fighting he is expelled from one high school after another, until finally it is left to his mother to sell off some of the family's prized possessions to pay for his tuition at an elite boarding school. This is the only school that will now accept him, and at a steep price. Knowing that the year at this school will be his last chance to graduate and move on to college, Erik is determined to get through it without another expulsion. At the same time he is also determined not to become victim to the traditional brutality that he soon discovers permeates the school. It is the tension between these two objectives that drives the story of "Evil".
The upper-classmen at his new boarding school quickly realize what they've got in Erik, and in response they continually raise the stakes in their obsession over making him submit. What results are scenes combining cruelty, brutality, and downright disgust (one episode involving a late-night visit by the upper-classmen to Erik's room is definitely not for the squeamish.) We also at times feel keen frustration at having to watch Erik put up with the various mistreatments, especially knowing that if he did fight back he could easily subdue any of these upper-classmen.
Lead actor Andreas Wilson's characterization of Erik is masterful, evoking the anger that drives him while also showing that as an individual he is far too complex to be dismissed as simply "evil". After the years of mistreatment by his stepfather (explaining not only the genesis of Erik's violent nature but his almost super-human ability to withstand pain), he has developed an unblinkingly tough facade, but as he begins to experience deep friendship and even romantic feelings for the first time, he gets in touch with his caring side as well. Erik is a boy of few words, giving Wilson relatively few lines of dialog and requiring him to evoke a great deal solely through facial expression and bodily aspect. Nonetheless, through Wilson we come to believe in Erik's gradual transformation -- his ultimate transcendance of his brutal homelife and the mistreatment at school. It is also worth noting that other characters are multi-dimensional as well. Not all of the teachers are blind and unfeeling to what is going on with the students, and Erik's worst tormenters show they are vulnerable in surprising ways. Even Erik's timid best friend/roommate proves to have an unexpectedly courageous side. A lesser film would not have strived for such nuance.
The resolution of the story is very satisfying, in part because when Erik finally does fight again (both at school and at home) it is out of considered necessity and not violent impulse. And, when he comes to achieve his ultimate victory at the very end, it is through perseverance, insight, and cleverness rather than violence at all.
The special features on the DVD include a featurette on the making of the movie, where we get to meet Guillou himself and learn more about how he came to write the original novel. We also hear from each of the featured actors and actresses and take in some behind-the-scenes production footage.
I should note that the blurb on the DVD cover ("It's Fight Club in a boarding school") is way off the mark. Did that critic see the same movie? Hopefully my synopsis gives a better sense of what the film is about.
|
|
|
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Very Decent Film, August 8, 2006
I would recommend Ondskan to anyone who is interested in coming-of-age films. American cinema has always been expert at such portrayals, and it is good to see so accomplished an example out of Sweden. I liked especially the fact that the director never wavers as he unmasks the unwholesome face of an angst-ridden, violence-prone, socially intransigent Swedish society of the not so long ago . Set in the fifties, mostly at a posh boarding school for the upper-class, where the sixth-form boys, led by an effete Swedish aristocrat, set about enforcing their arbitrary and violent rules while the faculty turn a blind eye, this film cleverly avoids the hooks, punches and triumphs of the underdog come to grips with the jack-booted status quo via his fists alone by allowing him to prevail to justice through the intervention of Swedish law. There are enough fisticuffs along the way, however, to satisfy the blood-thirsty among you. Well-acted, good script, beautiful cinematographic moments.
|
|
|
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very truthful, November 1, 2006
Erik Pontil is a bully at his high school. After severely beating up another student, he is expelled and sent to a private school, which is his last chance to get into a university. At home, he suffers from regular beatings by his step-father. When at the new school, he tries to lead a peaceful life but is, instead, tormented by the older students, who give him no chance but to fight back.
What I really like about this movie is that it shows how bullying really is a fault of society. In real life, people say they disagree with bullying but really support the bully when the action occurs. In the movie, whenever underclassmen get victimized by the seniors, the public supports the bullies, and chears them on in the box.
I think the real message of the movie is that the real law of our world is the survival of the fittest. Some are less fortunate and cannot defend themselves against bullies but others, like Erik, can fight for themselves. At the end, no one will fight for you. The only way to defeat bullying is to become stronger and fight off the bully. If you don't fight, you will be considered the villain as society will view you as weak and cowardly and look up to the bully.
Human nature is weak and inherently evil. The strongest law is the law of the fittest survive.
|
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
DVD ~ Lina Leandersson
DVD ~ Tom Cruise
DVD ~ Clint Eastwood
DVD ~ Johan Widerberg
DVD ~ Per Christian Ellefsen
