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Evil

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Evil (2003)

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Reviews Counted:34

Fresh:23

Rotten:11

Average Rating:6.6/10

Runtime: 1 hr 53 mins

Genre: Foreign Films

Theatrical Release:Mar 10, 2006 Limited

Synopsis: In 1950s Sweden, sixteen-year-old Erik Ponti's (Andreas Wilson) life is tainted by violence and conflict at both home and school. When he is expelled for fighting other students and has no... In 1950s Sweden, sixteen-year-old Erik Ponti's (Andreas Wilson) life is tainted by violence and conflict at both home and school. When he is expelled for fighting other students and has no possibility of transferring to another state school, his mother sells her heirlooms to pay for her only child to attend the Stjärnsberg Boarding School, a prestigious boys' academy. Confident that he can start anew, Erik is dismayed that the cycle of violence has far from ended and the school is not a refuge. For at Stjärnsberg , evil is systematized in the form of condoned violent oppression of younger students by their seniors. The teachers turn a blind eye as the older pupils implement their reign of terror, creating a hierarchical society based on class and age. Despite good advice from his studious roommate and best friend, Pierre (Henrik Lundström), to keep a low profile, Erik reveals his rebellious side through persistently disobeying the rules set by a small group of senior pupils, headed by sadistic snob Otto Silverhielm (Gustaf Skarsgård). Fearful of being expelled again, Erik retaliates to their vicious torments with his verbal skills rather than his fighting abilities. After Erik becomes the school swimming champion and a hero to the junior students, Silverhielm and his cruel classmates make the young teenager's life even more miserable. Notwithstanding more suffering, Erik remains steadfast in curbing the violence in his life. That is, until he is forced to defend the honor and name of his best friend whom the bullies have tortured in order to get Erik to break down and accept the challenge of a fight. Magnolia Pictures Presents EVIL, starring Andreas Wilson, Henrik Lundström, Gustaf Skarsgård, Linda Zilliacus. Screenplay by Mikael Håfström, Hans Gunnarsson. Based on the novel by Jan Guillou. Produced by Hans Lönnerheden, Ingemar Leijonborg. Directed by Mikael Håfström. --© Magnolia Pictures [More]

Starring: Jesper Salen, Andreas Wilson, Henrik Lunstrom, Gustaf Skarsgård

Starring: Jesper Salen, Andreas Wilson, Henrik Lunstrom, Gustaf Skarsgård, Linda Zilliacus, Filip Berg, Fredrik af Trampe, Richard Danielsson, Martin Svane, Rustan Blomqvist

Director: Mikael Håfström

Director: Mikael Håfström
Studio: Magnolia Pictures

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Release:

Jun 27, 2006

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Reviews for Evil

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1 - 20 (sorted by comments)
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Powerful film where the transformation is painful to watch, but leaves you feeling hope. It took me by surprise at several turns and stayed with me long after the final credits rolled.

Full Review Source: TheMovieChicks.com | comment 1 Comment
07/11/06
Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone
Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone
TheMovieChicks.com
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
01/26/06
Time Out

Solid enough, its main flaw is a sense of restraint -- it never quite ventures into the surreal darkness of the obviously comparable If…

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
03/25/06
Empire Magazine
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: culturevulture.net | comment Comment
03/25/06
culturevulture.net

Håfström leaves no loose end untied, and no easy sentiment untapped, but there's a didacticism to Evil that undercuts its sturdy narrative construction.

Full Review Source: eye WEEKLY | comment Comment
10/01/03
Adam Nayman
Adam Nayman
eye WEEKLY

A morally complex tale of the 'class' struggle, set in a 1950s boarding school.

Full Review Source: Movie Gazette | comment Comment
06/10/05
Anton Bitel
Anton Bitel
Movie Gazette

The milieu owes something to Lindsay Anderson's If.... , but Evil is less anti-authority than pro-confrontation.

Full Review Source: Village Voice | comment Comment
03/07/06
Ben Kenigsberg
Ben Kenigsberg
Village Voice
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The narrative has the same familiarity as the setting as Erik has to fight forces bigger than himself, giving the audience a story that justifies (and, not so secretly, revels in) its violence. Call it Fight Club at a boarding school.

Full Review Source: european-films.net | comment Comment
06/11/06
Boyd van Hoeij
Boyd van Hoeij
european-films.net
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press | comment Comment
09/29/07
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
St. Paul Pioneer Press

On the surface it seems very familiar ... and not altogether inaccessible to American audiences, but it also has the depth and substance we expect from our imports.

Full Review Source: Cinematical | comment Comment
09/17/07
Christopher Campbell
Christopher Campbell
Cinematical
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Daily Mirror [UK] | comment Comment
06/24/05
David Edwards
David Edwards
Daily Mirror [UK]

Wilson is a powerful presence as the slow-burning but, when roused, very violent Erik, while Lundstrom movingly portrays the vulnerable Pierre.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
03/09/06
David Stratton
David Stratton
Variety

not even a film as colossally absurd as Crash dares to completely sum up its entire train of thought in its one-word title, but such is the insult this 2005 Oscar nominee from Sweden commits.

Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | comment Comment
02/15/06
Ed Gonzalez
Ed Gonzalez
Slant Magazine

Hafstrom never finds the shades in his morality tale, so while Wilson is an intensely charismatic actor, all he can do is respond to relentless, escalating tortures. It's immensely unpleasant for him, and, frankly, not a whole lot better for us.

Full Review Source: New York Daily News | comment Comment
03/10/06
Elizabeth Weitzman
Elizabeth Weitzman
New York Daily News

Although Evil eventually suffers from its heavy-handed treatment of its subject, it is a well-made and engrossing melodrama.

Full Review Source: Hollywood Reporter | comment Comment
03/10/06
Frank Scheck
Frank Scheck
Hollywood Reporter

Comes perilously close to making Erik's suffering at the hands of sadistic upperclassmen seem almost fetishistic.

Full Review Source: Newsday | comment Comment
03/09/06
Gene Seymour
Gene Seymour
Newsday
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It's assured filmmaking and proof that school isn't always the best days of your life.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
06/21/05
Jamie Russell
Jamie Russell
BBC

Movies like Evil entertain us by serving sweet revenge on a platter, and director Mikael Håfström manipulates emotions more intelligently than most.

Full Review Source: Seattle Times | comment Comment
03/31/06
Jeff Shannon
Jeff Shannon
Seattle Times

Its stuffy, private-school scenes nearly turn the whole thing into The Dead Pugilist's Society, but this Swedish import does have its chilling moments.

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
03/31/06
Jeff Vice
Jeff Vice
Deseret News, Salt Lake City
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
05/07/07
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid
 
 
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March 09, 2006: Cusack Checks In to King's "1408"
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