Cracks

CRACKS is an intense psychological drama set in a boarding school for girls. The storyline is quite predictable insofar as such topics as passion, lust, sex, bullying, abuse, peer group pressure, and power politics are brought to the fore, and they're all subjects that have been done previously on film. Yet at the same time this low budget production has a sheen of quality to it, an air of lyricism that makes it watchable.

Eva Green headlines as the seductive teacher who's a subject of affection for many of the girls in her care. Green can do no wrong in my eyes and gives a typically assured and confident role. Juno Temple is the main villain of the piece and is well cast because there's something repulsive about her character that Temple nails ever so well. The rest of the cast are fine, although Maria Valverde is never quite as sympathetic as she should be.

CRACKS is a slow moving film in which little really happens until the end, and yet there is some suspense here, as well as drama. Nothing is very explicit and yet the themes explored are nonetheless powerful, and the ending is suitably horrific. It's not the sort of film that's going to set the world on fire, but it engrosses all the same.

I came across this film out of desperation the other night...just wanting to watch something decent. What I found was a gem of a movie. I wasn't familiar with anyone in the cast except Eva Green from Dark Shadows, who I didn't really have an opinion of either way and I'm not a fan of boarding school movies of any sort, but I watched it anyway.

Eva Green, as Miss G, was completely captivating and I could picture myself having a school girl crush on her when I was in high school...or heck, maybe even now. Her character comes across as educated, well traveled and totally alluring in every way...until a Spanish transfer student comes to the school and she begins to unravel.

The film is beautifully shot and the music is a perfect compliment to it. I really can't wait to see what else Jordan Scott does next.

The foundations are similar: a tightly regimented boarding school, and one cavalier staff member who encourages nonconformity and an independent spirit. From this basis arises themes of social cliques, jealousy and unequal obsession, petty cruelty, secrets, anxieties, a facade and pretense belying actual lack of knowledge or experience, and still more story or character ideas lending to considerable tension. None of this is particularly remarkable, perhaps, save for the extremity to which all such notions are taken - where other titles have explored such ideas with a mind toward light fantasy, or coming of age, 'Cracks' instead becomes astoundingly bleak, and almost altogether horrifying. For all that, it's increasingly compelling, though one way or another this ranges from "hard to watch" to "surely not appealing for all."

The movie does boast concrete narrative threads, especially in the character arc of Miss G, though they are loosely assembled such that strictly speaking it never feels like we're being propelled in a specific direction. All this may not sound like much, but as the length advances and dynamics become more severe, the tableau becomes unexpectedly dark and forceful, and likewise more actively engaging as events build toward some inevitably terrible conclusion. Through it all I can only commend the cast for their fine performances, not least the younger members of the ensemble. Juno Temple, María Valverde, and Imogen Poots portray the chief students Di, Fiamma, and Poppy with vibrant life and harsh personality, such that even if the story were centered only on these three it would be quite absorbing. Eva Green, meanwhile - force of nature that she is, able to speak volumes with only the slightest of gazes or facial expressions - has rarely taken on a role so unremittingly dreary as Miss G. That says a lot, given her list of credits; either way, as expected she navigates the part with all the tremendous nuance and skill we know she possesses.

Ultimately 'Cracks' comes off more as a character drama than anything else, a slant which may serve in some measure to limit its audience. Such as it is, however, at length I believe the writing and direction are wonderfully strong, tying together a feature that can also claim fabulous filming locations, production design, art direction, and costume design. Overall I think this is very worthwhile on its own merits; however, even at its most taut and grim it's never perfectly captivating. I enjoyed watching, yet it also feels like something is missing, one or two puzzle pieces without which the image is less than whole. It's hard to put into words exactly what the issue is, though in any case this is purely subjective. And even if it's not flawless, by and large I'm pleased to have spent time with this movie, and it earns a soft recommendation. Suggested above all for fans of Green or the other cast members, 'Cracks' may not be entirely essential, but it's a well made picture, and worth checking out if you have the chance.

This film is about a young female teacher in a prestigious British boarding school. She develops a special interest in one of her pupils, causing catastrophic changes in group dynamics.

"Cracks" is such a big surprise. It is technically well made, with great cinematography throughout. The best thing is that the plot is well told, it is engaging throughout the whole story. Every emotion and feeling is conveyed by expert story telling, such as the mood of the scene and the body language of actresses. They draw viewers into their world, and into their feelings. One can easily tell Miss G's attraction, confusion and panic; Di's jealousy and Fiamma's emotional change throughout the film. Such an empathy inducing film is rarely seen nowadays.

I do recommend "Cracks", and I hope it will reach a wider audience.

Jordan Scott, niece of director Tony Scott who with his brother Ridley Scott serve a executive producers of this film, makes and impressive debut as a director/writer (with Ben Court and Caroline Ip) in this intensely interesting and well crafted adaptation of Sheila Kohler's novel CRACKS. This is a period piece (1934) that takes place in St. Mathilda's School in Stanley Island, England, an isolated all girl British boarding school. The mood is one of Gothic evil where rich young girls participate in the cloistered rigid education imposed by the matrons of the school -Miss Nieven (Sinéad Cusack), Matron (Helen Norton), and Miss Lacey (Deirdre Donnelly) - whose chief concern is to guard the reputation of the school at all costs, and lightened only by the presence of the swimming/diving coach Miss G (Eva Green) whom the girls admire for her exotic beauty, worldliness, supposed travel around the world, and her possessiveness of her brood.

One of the girls, Di (Juno Temple in a brilliant performance), is the team captain and the apparent favorite of Miss G - until the sudden arrival of a beautiful Spanish girl Fiamma (María Valverde) who tends to set herself apart form the rest of the claque (Di, Poppy (Imogen Poots), Lily (Ellie Nunn), Fuzzy (Clemmie Dugdale), Laurel (Adele McCann) and Rosie (Zoë Carroll). Fiamma is an expert diver and her gifts as a sportsman as well as her beauty attract Miss G, replacing Di as her favorite. In jealous rage Di gathers the claque and plans the exit of this unwanted intruder. How this backfires and increases Miss G's attraction to Fiamma leads down another path of evil that pulls this little tale of terror to a surprising end.

Eva Green manages to make Miss G a fascinating character and her gradual obsession with Fiamma and the direction that takes her is a very fine performance. But the entire cast - girls and teachers - is superb, especially Juno Temple in a career making role. The cinematography by John Mathieson finds both the haunting beauty of the isolated St. Mathilde's School and the splendid panoramas of nature add immeasurably to the film as does the musical score by Javier Navarette - a score that combines Anglican hymns with gentle piano music. This is a triumph for all concerned and bodes well for the career of Jordan Scott.

Grady Harp