The concept behind this film sounds quite interesting: a maverick student joins an exclusive private school and upsets its tradition-bound power structures. It could have been quite good, in an If sort of fashion. But somewhere it all just went a bit wrong.
Ian McFadyen is excellent as the tyrannical teacher nicknamed "The Spider". The film lights up whenever he's on screen, alternately taunting and teasing his students. Liam Nunan gives good value as the misfit catalyst for change, Julian Mitchell. The rest of the cast is a bit variable, but mostly provides adequate support.
Unfortunately the storyline goes off in some odd directions which aren't really believable, and like many an Australian film it doesn't end properly. The editing is a bit lumpy, with odd fades to black here and there (presumably to facilitate a TV screening with ad breaks). The film is obviously shot on the cheap, and it shows in the occasional poor grading of shots. More obviously, one never gets a sense that there's much of a school behind the one senior year the film focuses on, due to a lack of other students and teachers.
Worth seeing once, if only for McFadyen's performance. But I think the director and screenwriter owe us a few R&Rs.
Ian McFadyen is excellent as the tyrannical teacher nicknamed "The Spider". The film lights up whenever he's on screen, alternately taunting and teasing his students. Liam Nunan gives good value as the misfit catalyst for change, Julian Mitchell. The rest of the cast is a bit variable, but mostly provides adequate support.
Unfortunately the storyline goes off in some odd directions which aren't really believable, and like many an Australian film it doesn't end properly. The editing is a bit lumpy, with odd fades to black here and there (presumably to facilitate a TV screening with ad breaks). The film is obviously shot on the cheap, and it shows in the occasional poor grading of shots. More obviously, one never gets a sense that there's much of a school behind the one senior year the film focuses on, due to a lack of other students and teachers.
Worth seeing once, if only for McFadyen's performance. But I think the director and screenwriter owe us a few R&Rs.
