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Saturday Night At The Movies — Bad teacher (not that one..)

Published by digby on June 26, 2011
Saturday Night At The Movies

Bad teacher
By Dennis Hartley












Mean girls, circa 1934: Cracks
While glancing over the film studio’s press kit synopsis of Jordan (daughter of Ridley) Scott’s directorial debut, Cracks, I have to say that I got my feathers ruffled over the fact that it trumpeted “The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie meets Lord of the Flies.” Ahem, I thought to myself, that’s my job as the obsessive-compulsive film buff to come up with clever little “(blank) meets (blank)” references. Don’t dictate to me how to perceive the film before I even see it. How dare you usurp the mighty film critic, I continued raging, like the petulant man-child that I am…don’t do as I do…do as I say! So I defiantly dredged up my own comparisons: It’s Picnic at Hanging Rock meets The Children’s Hour! It’s Heavenly Creatures meets The Fallen Idol! Hah! You want esoteric? Try The Sailor Who Fell from Grace With the Sea meets Death in Venice …bee-YATCHes!!
I digress. As you may have gleaned from some of the references above, Scott’s film is the latest entry in a time-honored film genre: The Boarding School Drama. Set in the 1930s, with Irish filming locations standing in for an English coastal island, this particular institution is an elite girl’s school. As we’ve learned from watching such tales over the years, each school has its own caste system, with an exclusive ruling clique at the top of the pyramid. This one is led by a haughty young miss named Di (Juno Temple), who publicly admonishes her peeps for such high crimes and misdemeanors as insufficiently buttering her toast for her at breakfast; after which she magnanimously assuages the humiliated underling with a tough love caveat: “We must set the standard for the others.”
However, there is a cosmology from upon high to which Di defers for “the standard” and guidance, which is handed down by the Unconventional Yet Inspirational Teacher of the piece. She is the enigmatically named Miss G (Eva Green). Di and her hand-picked inner circle share a mutual admiration society with the free-spirited Miss G, who captivates her charges with affected worldly poise and romanticized tales of wanderlust. She has also chosen them for her exclusive “diving team”, appointing Di as the captain. In return, Miss G gets to bask in adulation and feed (in somewhat vampiric fashion) off of their youthful exuberance. “What is the most important thing in life?” she challenges them, firing them up for dive practice “Desire!” (Hmmm…‘desire’. More on that, in just a sec).
Everything goes swimmingly for Miss G. and her frolicking water nymphs until the arrival of a new girl throws a Spaniard in the works. Her name is Fiamma (Maria Valverde), and she hails from an aristocratic Spanish family. The headmistress puts the new girl under Miss G’s tutelage, instructing her to make Fiamma feel welcome, but with no special deference (implying expectation that she will play the spoiled little princess). Di wastes little time making Fiamma feel “welcome” by informing her in no uncertain terms (as she is unpacking) that she is “allowed” but five personal decorative objects on her nightstand. There is no tantrum, no tears (the kind of reaction that bullies really hate). In fact, Fiamma vibes a sophistication and maturity beyond the ken of the other girls; and when she recognizes one of Miss G’s “personal” anecdotes to be rote memorization from a published work, it is clear that the group dynamic is about to change. The divine Miss G, it would seem, has feet of clay-but don’t think that she will readily give up her stature.
The director co-adapted her screenplay with Ben Court and Caroline Ip from a novel by Shelia Kohler. I have not read the source book, but a perusal of the author’s website reveals that the prevalent theme in her stories is a quest to dissect “…the reasons for violence within intimate relationships, in particular, the abuse of power and privilege.” I can definitely see that in this film; particularly through the character of Miss G, who (especially as her darker nature comes to the fore) is the very embodiment of this theme. Sadly, this ultimate betrayal of trust by a parental/mentor/authority figure has become par for the course in the nightly news-so much so we hardly blink anymore when presented with the sordid details. Green is edgy and effective in the role, particularly in the way she keeps the Sapphic psychosexual undercurrents roiling just below the surface, poised to explode at any moment (Blanche Dubois as a life coach). This is a promising debut for Scott; if her direction falters, it’s in the film’s pacing, which could have used some tightening; this feels akin to a Masterpiece Theater presentation. Perhaps understandably, she hasn’t discovered her filmic voice yet. Still, I would recommend it for the fine performances and absorbing story…so you could say that I’m willing to grade on a curve.
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