Bad Apples review: Unpredictable and hilarious dark comedy
When I think of Saoirse Ronan, I picture a good-hearted person because that’s usually the type of character she plays, so it’s exciting to see her portray a morally dubious person in Bad Apples.
Based on the 2020 Swedish novel De Oonskade (The Unwanted), this dark comedy follows Maria Spencer (Ronan), a young Irish teacher at a primary school in Southern England. In her class, she has the unruly Danny (Eddie Waller), an aggressive troublemaker who cannot be controlled. He disrupts every class and prevents her from adequately teaching her other pupils. One day, after an escalation of events, she takes matters into her own hands.
Bad Apples is a lot of fun if you have a very dark sense of humour. You don’t know where it’s going to go after the initial premise and it takes some unexpected twists and turns, making it a great film to watch with a crowd. There will be plenty of audible reactions of the “I can’t believe they did that” variety. It is hilarious in a twisted, pitch-black way, although I reckon they could have pushed the idea even further.
Maria’s life transforms for the better with Danny removed from the class. She is finally able to connect with her other pupils and be a good teacher. But her new way of life is threatened by Pauline (Mia Brown), the teacher’s pet who knows too much and uses her knowledge as leverage. This adds a new moral dilemma to the mix and heightens the tension of Maria being found out.
It’s a delight to see Ronan playing against type in an unexpected kind of film. She’s done a few comedies (Lady Bird, See How They Run) but Bad Apples is a different beast altogether. As I associate her with nice period characters, I loved seeing her inhabit someone who is morally dubious, modern and funny. Even though what Maria does is questionable, you don’t hate her – in fact, you understand where she is coming from – because Ronan is such a skilled performer.
Newcomer Waller nails the angry child assignment but is better when Danny’s rage-filled exterior comes down and you find the vulnerable boy underneath. Also, Brown is sickly sweet as the class suck-up and becomes incredibly annoying when her power over Maria goes to her head. The adult side characters – Jacob Anderson and Rakie Ayola – are solid additions but aren’t fleshed out quite as much as the main trio.
It isn’t perfect but Bad Apples spoke to my sense of humour so I enjoyed it immensely.
In cinemas from Friday 18th September