Bad Apples – Film Review
by Frank L.

Director: Jonatan Etzler
Writers: Jess O’Kane, Rasmus Lindgren
Stars: Saoirse Ronan, Eddie Waller, Sean Gilder, Harvey Ip

Maria (Saoirse Ronan) is a dedicated young teacher, teaching a class of tweens. She lives alone, as she has recently broken up with her partner. She has one problem child in her class, a pupil called Danny (Eddie Waller).  He has no interest whatsoever in socially acceptable behaviour. To describe him as disruptive fails to encompass the extent to which he demands attention.  In short, he is impossible,

Maria, in trying to handle his thuggish behaviour, leaves her precious little time to attend to the needs of the other children. Of course, the school authorities just expect Maria to get on with it. That is part of the job as far as they are concerned. Eventually Danny oversteps the mark, and in a moment of desperation Maria makes a rash decision. She kidnaps him and incarcerates him, shackled, in the garage of her house – an unlikely scenario. She must live with the consequences of her rash decision. One of her other pupils in the class, Pauline (Nia Browne), appears initially to be of little consequence, but that benign exterior hides a knowing and enquiring persona.

The film begins with a scene of a school outing to a local cider factory. There is a conveyor belt packed tightly with apples. But amongst the apples is a white sneaker which Danny has placed on the conveyor belt. Another disruptive action by him. It is mesmerising to watch. A typical school outing takes on a different complexion because of Danny. The film touches upon the many challenges that a teacher faces daily within a system bound by a myriad of procedures and protocols. Those concepts take little cognisance of a pupil of the likes of Danny. As a result, Maria has, in fact, little or no support.

Ronan captures the many facets of Maria’s life as a woman alone and as a dedicated teacher taunted by an impossible child within a system which does not make allowance for such a phenomenon. Waller is magnificently loathsome. You can understand in desperation why Maria decides to do what she did in incarcerating him. He is a horror. Browne has a part in which her character appears to undergo substantial change, and she captures well the apparent metamorphosis of Pauline.

Ultimately, it is not easy to discern the point that the film is trying to make. The impossible pupil is a phenomenon every teacher has had to face. In addition, there are parent-teacher meetings and public inspections at which Maria excels, notwithstanding that Danny is incarcerated in her house.

Bad Apples is good in parts, but it does not come together to make a satisfying whole. The acting of Ronan, Waller and Browne keeps it buoyant.