Billed as a drama, this new movie on the hellish
experiences of a substitute teacher in a public high school from infrequent
Brit filmmaker Tony Kaye is nothing short of a horror story. It makes his 1998
hit movie ‘American History X’ seem like a walk in the park by comparison, and
that, if you recall, was about a couple of thuggish brothers who were neo-Nazis!
inner-city school that is failing both its pupils and its staff. The Principal is about to be fired because of
the school’s abysmal exam results mean that parents are reluctant to move into
the area and therefore property prices are depressed!
The students however display no interest in learning
whatsoever and use their mandated time in the classroom to violently taunt the teachers
and generally create havoc. Henry who seems totally disaffected, refuses to back
down to his new pupil’s threats and when they are met with his stoic and calm demeanor
they actually slowly start to respond positively to him.
The other teachers are floundering and are overwhelmed
by both a system and by pupils that they can no longer control. In fact one of the best scenes is when Dr. Parker the School Counselor just totally loses herself one day and bawls a
student out is such a manner that even the kid gets frightened.
Whilst dealing with all this stress at school, Henry
must also deal with his dying grandfather suffering from dementia and wrestling
with some unresolved family demons in his past.
And good Samaritan that he is, somehow Henry has taken a 15 year old prostitute
under his wing and off the street and plays a fine line with her between moral
guardian and friend.
It is a totally frightening scenario (and I’ve deliberately
left a few of the worse parts out to avoid spoiling the story), and it never lets up for
one single moment. Its deliberately provocative
and sensationalistic and if there is any message that Mr Kaye and Carl Lund his
screenwriter intend to give about the education system in inner cities, it must be simply, that there is no hope. At all.
to the powerhouse performance of Adrian Brody who for once reminds us why he
once won an Oscar. Add to this Marcia
Gay Harden as the bruised Principal about to tossed away; Lucy Liu as Dr. Parker the counselor who needs some therapy herself; James Caan as a cynical
old teacher past retiring but gets through the day thanks to his happy pills;
and Christine Hendricks the desperately lonely teacher who almost puts a move
on Henry but she has lost the knack; and also Blythe Danner, Tim Blake Nelson,
Bryan Cranston and William Peterson.
If Mr Kaye’s purpose was to shake us all
up, he really succeeded, and I for one will be steering clear of schools for
a very long time after this.
★★★★★★★★
Labels: drama
