This film would be predominantly described as a 'Torture flick" I suppose. But it does have more, even if I'm not sure what the 'more actually is.
The start of the film is almost directed in the style of Shane Meadows, set in typocal suburban England, with the main character(s) doing their stereotypical thing, in this case being bored, loutish teenagers. Then you have the teacher who has had some type of breakdown. After one episode too much of being bullied by the teenagers, the teacher has some sort of breakdown and kidnaps two of the lads, and the 'torture' part of the film starts. The torturing is took place during the following 'lesson' the teenagers go through after the kidnapping.
Which leads to why I think this film has not got a higher rating. If the torture genre is your thing, then this story line as I have explained it would be plenty enough for you. It is bloody, gory and sadistic. However, the film is also trying to be more. And for me it was. I felt as though I was learning things along with the teenagers. But there are other seemingly unconnected, unneeded and unwanted parts to the film going on which are hard to understand, certainly on first viewing. Flashbacks, characters who seem to serve no purpose but have airtime for no good reason. And this makes the film a little bit too confusing. I am left feeling that there is some clever, underlying part of the film that I have not understood and watching it again may help me connect the dots. Of course, I maybe wrong, in which case its probably more of a 5 than the 7 I have given it.
Review of The Lesson
