At the end of a very long day at a cider mill in “Bad Apples,” it isn’t any of Maria’s (Saoirse Ronan) students on a field trip who are singled out for punishment after a sneaker mischievously ends up moving through the processing plant, adding some unwanted flavor to that day’s juice, but rather the teacher who is told she is on her last chance by the principal at Ashton Brook Primary School. To make any special accommodations for the class troublemaker Danny (Eddie Waller) are out of the question the headmaster says, for both budgetary considerations when cash is tight, but a confrontation with his father Josh (Robert Emms) also seems unlikely to yield any better result when as you learn, like many in town, he’s overworked and his kid has come second to keeping a roof over their head, so the burden has fallen on Maria to keep David from spoiling the other 20 or so students in her class on a daily basis where he comes in daily with his middle fingers raised and there’s simply no way to calm him down.
If the best comedies emerge from tragedy, Jonatan Etzler puts together a doozy in his dazzling second feature, watching as Maria’s sigh of relief upon coming to class the day after the mill incident and seeing Danny’s chair empty is short-lived as he strolls in late and can only shrug his shoulders when asked for an excuse. Her attempt to lighten the mood by mentioning one of her favorite Rickie Lee Jones’ songs to attempt to elicit emotions for a class assignment flies back in her face almost immediately and after having her best efforts denied, she sees it as a mixed blessing when Danny pushes his classmate Pauline (a scene-stealing Nia Brown) down a stairwell, leading to his suspension, giving her a bit more breathing room that she knows still has to come to an end. The only thing she can count on is for Danny to screw up again, which he does spectacularly and through a wild series of events, goes missing with only Maria aware of his whereabouts and a half-hearted search commences in town when everyone knows he’s trouble.
There may be a problem child at the center of “Bad Apples,” but it’s the adults that Etzler and writer Jess O’Kane identify as a major part of the issue in their sharp adaptation of Rasmus Andersson’s novel “De Oönskade” when there is less concern for the kids’ education than simply having someone take on all responsibility for them, finding it easier to assign blame for their shortcomings than to put any time of their own into their matriculation. Observing all the blood drain from Maria’s face in what is one of Ronan’s most cunning performances, showing how fearful she is of the parents’ wrath from her eyes alone, becomes a barometer in losing faith in what should be a noble profession but has increasingly devolved into babysitting. With Danny gone from her class, everyone flourishes, but Maria knows she’s on borrowed time, particularly when Pauline, an extra attentive student, starts to have her suspicions about where Danny is, and the film increasingly becomes about people taking away the wrong lessons from what’s unfolding at the school.
Stylistically, Alexander Payne’s “Election” and Cory Finley’s “Bad Education” were no doubt influences on Etzler on the colorful satire where there’s as much of a dark edge to the frame as there is to the humor, but there’s a reason these type of wicked satires only come around so often and the director shows he can pull it off with a deft touch. Most impressively, the story would seem to gradually work itself into a corner it can’t escape as Maria becomes increasingly isolated with the knowledge that she has, but it’s fitting that a climax only comes when the adults finally have to start paying attention to what their kids are telling them and the film exudes a youthful, playful energy throughout that gives it such panache. For those that like ‘em tart, “Bad Apples” is quite juicy.
“Bad Apples” will next screen at the San Sebastian Film Festival on September 20th at Principe 2 at 9 pm and the BFI London Film Festival on October 9th at 8:40 pm at BFI Southbank and October 11th at noon at the Curzon SoHo Cinema.