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.
Evil (2003)
Tomatometer
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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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Reviews for Evil
Solid enough, its main flaw is a sense of restraint -- it never quite ventures into the surreal darkness of the obviously comparable If…
Håfström leaves no loose end untied, and no easy sentiment untapped, but there's a didacticism to Evil that undercuts its sturdy narrative construction.
A morally complex tale of the 'class' struggle, set in a 1950s boarding school.
The milieu owes something to Lindsay Anderson's If.... , but Evil is less anti-authority than pro-confrontation.
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.
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.
Wilson is a powerful presence as the slow-burning but, when roused, very violent Erik, while Lundstrom movingly portrays the vulnerable Pierre.
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.
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.
Although Evil eventually suffers from its heavy-handed treatment of its subject, it is a well-made and engrossing melodrama.
Comes perilously close to making Erik's suffering at the hands of sadistic upperclassmen seem almost fetishistic.
It's assured filmmaking and proof that school isn't always the best days of your life.
Movies like Evil entertain us by serving sweet revenge on a platter, and director Mikael Håfström manipulates emotions more intelligently than most.
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.
Latest News for Evil
March 09, 2006:
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