There are few things as thrilling as a new Saoirse Ronan film. The Irish actress has been steadily working since she was but a small child and has set herself out as one of the most reliably committed actresses in the industry. So, it's no shock that even when the film is less than ideal she is on top form. Which, in a way, explains Bad Apples.
Bad Apples is a peculiar thing. Following primary school teacher Maria (Ronan) as she attempts to control an out-of-control student Danny (Eddie Waller). When Danny begins vandalising her car, Maria makes a frankly bizarre choice, to keep Danny in her basement, and the result is… potentially positive?
It's fair to say that Bad Apples is not meant to be taken seriously, it's a blackly comic thriller satirising the schooling system. The issue is that there is a more interesting drama to be made, perhaps in the vein of Mike Leigh or Ken Loach, about the awful pressure put on actual teachers. Director Jonatan Etzler might be lampooning the world of education in a dark fashion, but much of the film comes across as Daily Mail style pearl clutching. Weak teachers, politician like head teachers, psychotic children and overly aggressive parents all feel like they're pulled form the very worst of the tabloid headlines.
Ronan's Maria is a perfectly likeable teacher, who wants to educate and do well, and once Waller's frankly too-loathsome Danny is taken off the table, she can do that. But the film has no real interest in nuance. Even the much feared Ofsted inspector appears as childhood propaganda of what a pedophile looks like. It's all too broad, except Ronan's soulful performance which appears to want to make a more serious point about the pressure put on our educators to treat thirty hungry to learn students as individuals.
Danny could, in more nuanced hands, be an interesting look at what makes a student “naughty”, but is instead a f-word dropping monster who no one really feels bad for being chained in a basement. He gets a better education there, he has a PS5, a nice bed, pesto pasta! While nerdy student Pauline is played so broadly she borders on bunny-boiling territory.
It's also not nearly as dark as it could be. It's often too scared to bare it's teeth robbing it of any socio-bite or broad laughs. Instead it's a film searching for a purpose. If the purpose is to be a good showcase for Ronan, she's had better; if it's meant to be a rip-roaring romp it's failed at that.
Back of the class, sadly.
Bad Apples was screened as part of the Official Selection at the London Film Festival on 9 October
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