I discovered two things tonight. One, that Evil or Ondskan is one of the best movies ever made. And two, that Andreas Wilson, who plays Erik in Evil is also one of the most good-looking men ever made. This movie was on my wishlist for a while, but it took today for me to watch it. I think I was partly petrified because I thought it might turn out to be some kind of gory horror flick on the nature of evil, but nothing could be further from the truth while being close to it.
Image : IMDB
Evil is horror. The horror of depravity that human beings can sink to. But at it's heart, and here I go, becoming cliched again, is a story of redemption and courage. Add that gooey Andreas Wilson to that mix, this makes a wonderful and compelling movie indeed. We see at the beginning of the movie that Erik is expelled from his school for fighting. He has a tempestuous relationship with his stepfather who canes him for the smallest altercations. His mother sells some of her family heirlooms to give Erik one last chance to graduate from a prestigious boarding school. It's Erik's brooding presence that captivates you from the beginning. At Stjärnsberg, Erik decides that there is too much stake and resolves to not pick a fight and get himself expelled. But he is immediately picked on by the seniors. At the school, there is a system of kamratuppfostran" ("schoolmate upbringing"). It's supposed to keep the school orderly, but Erik will follow rules, but not succumb to humiliation. It's here that the drama of the movie reaches its highest point. It's a cat and mouse game where the two members of the school council, Otto Silverhielm and Gustaf Dahlén push Erik to the limit, and you can only watch in frustration as Erik refuses. You know that the thread is going to break, and you watch the movie sitting on the edge of your seat as it becomes taut, then frail, and then...no, I won't tell you.
To me, the rest of the movie is not about fighting back. It's not about knowing that the fight lies in not fighting. It's not about the friendship between Erik and Pierre. It's not the slow blossom love between Erik and the nurse Marja (forbidden at the school). But the movie was just an exploration on the nature of the human psyche. Why was I waiting for Erik to lash out? To turn on his perpetrators? Who is truly evil? Was it Erik? He is shown earlier in the movie violently beating a boy. Is it his step father? Or is evil the bullies at the school? Or is it you? Because you are waiting for the thread to snap? Compelling drama such as this, I believe, deserves more than a 68% score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Watch this movie. I would do so again.
Lifeometer: Ooooh la la. Just movie watching heaven. Even if I sound like a teenager in saying so.
Review: Evil
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