Friday, 27 January 2012
The problem with Cracks is that it has all the elements of a great film. The atmosphere- a sequestered boarding school- is perfect and beautifully shot. Eva Green is magnificent as a sexually ambiguous and worldly teacher and Juno Temple leads the clique of girls with deliberate and talented acting. All the elements are there in this story about an all girls school that gets turned upside down by the arrival of exotic and sensual foreign student, Fiamma, who catches the eye of Ms G. (Green), the favourite teacher. Unfortunately all this wraps up in a predictable and somewhat unsatisfactory ending while many story lines are hinted at but not followed through on. A scandal that Fiamma was involved in is mentioned once but never concluded. Furthermore, we are told that Ms. G's stories are fiction, she has never left the school and even has trouble talking to a man in the bakery however no more information is given. When Ms. G hints that the students are never going to go home, the audience is left wondering if some sinister trap awaits the students and, indeed, they seem to be there even in summer. Once again this story is never resolved leaving you curious about the unexplored potential of the story. Cracks doesn't take you anywhere you haven't been before, ideas of mob mentality, the cruelty of girls and lesbianism in a girls school are all ideas that are being rehashed. Foreshadowing that would be obvious to any high school student beats you over the head from the first scene. Furthermore, a film dealing with female-female rape is treading in dangerous territory. The risks of being gratuitous or undermining the impact of such an event are always there. However, Cracks, avoids these pitfalls, for the most part. The impact is certainly severe, even so, the offending party gets off with little or no punishment, something I feel wouldn't happen in a film dealing with male-female rape (and nor should it).
In any case, flaws and all, Cracks dose have a slew of great performances, beautiful costuming and immaculate filmography which makes it an enjoyable watch.
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