If.... (1968)

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Mum tells me that she skived off class to see If...., back in the day, and was bemused at her friends' insistence that it was just like their school. It wasn't, of course, but students have the same alacrity as everyone else when it comes to feeling put-upon and oppressed.

Like Evil, a more recent effort, If.... is ostensibly a critique of cultures of abuse at boarding schools; both have a rebellious protagonist striking back with his own violence. Evil's protagonist strikes back with his fists against his schoolmate oppressor -- its disturbing moral is that bullies must be beaten young, lest they grow into abusive adults. Here, Mick Travis (Malcolm McDowell) starts a revolution.

It isn't a revenge fantasy, for all its overtones of Columbine: it's mockery. It mocks the schoolboys, their schoolmasters, their unsatisfied wives, their attitudes, their airs and graces. It mocks the idea that something so grand as revolution is required against an institution so hollow. If you just said no...

Stupid at times (the diner scene!), but interesting, clever, and incredibly engaging. Don't miss this one.

- Sam - 2007-08-29 09:17:58