All classes have resident troublemakers, with the first English feature “Bad Apples” of Swedish filmmaker Jonathan Etzler (“One more”). Like wilderness as they come, his anger knows no boundaries. And after a brutal attack on the star’s students, his stretched thin teacher Maria goes to unimaginable lengths and assures him that he is missing from future school audits.
Shortly after its premiere at TIFF and its arrival at a new directors’ competition in San Sebastian, the thrilling, aselvic, high-octane comedy sets up a joyride through perverse plot to audiences.
“We had a really good reception at TIFF. Most people really liked it. I felt like San Sebastian, and it was probably even better.
The increasingly maniacal Saoars Ronan (Ladybug) plays Maria, who appears to be the embodiment of meekness and temperate zones. Most days, he shows up at her job like a lamb for a massacre and experiences movement. She is an understatement, and she is out into the ocean without the best of life until she finally snaps under great pressure.
This story was adapted by Etzler and Jess O’Kane of Rasmus Lindgren’s debut novel Deoönskade.
Each character is set up easily, but so is its idiosyncraticity, just as the story is constructed. With Danny being held hostage, Maria’s life begins to thrive, and its star student, Pauline, greets inch to her favorite donkey as sympathy escapes and vibrates between the characters.
Ronan plays with enigmatic newcomer Eddie Waller and burgeoning child star Nia Brown with a frenzy of energy that only young people can deliver. Director and amused and challenged, Etzler admitted to instilling playfulness in the sets that will help children to bring great emotion, praised casting director Fiona Weir, who previously cast the Harry Potter film, and found the perfect pint-sized talent, able to scream at his crew and keep his toes.
“I think it was tough finding Danny because we wanted someone who could feel that rage under our skin, which is what we found with Eddie,” he told me. “It’s a challenge when you’re working with your kids because it’s unpredictable. You want to get everything you want, but you have to be flexible and adaptable. Luckily, these kids became very quickly professional. She quickly became this super professional actress.”
The aesthetics and scores are noteworthy. From the first scene, they play a role in establishing the film’s majestic and foreshadowing mood. From the cool dunk blue grey tones in Maria’s basement to the clever signs adorning the school’s walls, the production mechanics are working to draw viewers even more in their studies of this high-stakes character. For an influential final edit, Otzler points to production designer Jacqueline Abraham, known for “Lobster,” and Swedish sound designer Andreas Frank.
“We’ve always worked with the idea of a stable rhythm. Like a machine like an unstoppable pumping, it works well in the story. Maria was driving this thing you really can’t stop. We used many orchestras that have very strange and airy feelings.
“The film has a significant Swedish presence. It is based on a Swedish novel, with Swedish DP NeaAsphäll, editor Robert Krantz, and Sound and Post were held in Sweden.
Produced by Oskar Pimlott on British Pulse Film and picked up by a photo of Paramount’s indie singles republic, “Bad Apples” offers existential commentary on the human condition, using dark comedy as a means to provide Frenzy, placing collective convenience in the well-being of the most vulnerable outsiders.
If he discovers that other projects have succeeded in awfully debating the same concept, Etzler believes that his sardonic approach will seduce the audience, defeat the security guards, resonate the subject, and perhaps see his own accomplice inwards in the process.
“The many extravagances we have in our everyday lives here in the Western world are based on the suffering of others. It’s very difficult to escape from them. I read a short story that inspired me while working on this film. It was called “The One Who Leaves the Omrus.” They found it about this.
He added: “It can easily be a very depressing movie. I think laughter will help. Laughter is a response to discomfort, and how difficult these complex issues are. For now, I’m very excited to reach audiences all over the world through the theatre and see what kind of debate it sparks.”
