Evil (2003)

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Ondskan

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full starfull starfull starempty starempty star

Bizarre story of proto-fascist students at a Swedish boarding school. Erik Ponti (Andreas Wilson) refuses to obey the arbitrary dictates of the seniors, so his hazing grows dangerously violent; the teachers do nothing. There are echoes of Cool Hand Luke and explicit mention of Nazi Germany.

We know that Ponti was expelled from his previous school for fighting, and that it's only a matter of time before he puts his oppressors in the hospital; what's troubling is that the film seems geared towards encouraging it. Sociopaths like Otto Silverheim (Gustaf Skarsgård), the chief bully, cannot be allowed to "win", lest they grow into even greater monsters, but non-violent resistance proves futile: Evil's reduces to a prayer in favour of vigilante justice, violence the only solution to violence.

It's well-shot and the performances are uniformly excellent; it's just a shame that it all goes towards a subject so morally dubious and, worse, clumsily handled.

- Sam - 2007-02-02 23:23:55