Evil (2003)

Film: Evil (2003)
Stars: Andreas Wilson, Henrik Lundstrom, Gustaf Skarsgard, Linda Zilliacus
Director: Mikael Hafstrom
Oscar History: 1 nomination (Best Foreign Language Film-Sweden)
Snap Judgment Ranking: 3/5 stars

It's a new week, and with that, a new theme.  We are going to be focusing on Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars, though all of these films will be from the 2000's, as I have been trying to finish up a few years (specifically 2003 & 2017), and as a result have a lot of such movies stored up in my drafts folder.  We'll start this week devoted to these two years with Evil, a movie I knew next to nothing about when I watched it, and was genuinely surprised at the directions it took.  Sweden is, thanks in large part to Ingmar Bergman, one of the most-nominated countries at the Oscars.  However, since Bergman's death, the films they are nominated for are eclectic, and perhaps none more than this one, about an all boy's school with an ugly history of hazing & violence.

(Spoilers Ahead) The film takes place in the late 1950's, and centers around Erik Ponti (Wilson), a teenager whose stepfather beats him mercilessly at home, and he himself has developed a penchant for violence.  He is sent to a boarding school by his kind (but unable to help with the violence) mother, but the school has its own sadistic tendencies, specifically a group of boys who cruelly run the school (headed by Otto, played by Skarsgard), and try to beat Erik's defiant attitude out of him.  Erik's initial only friend is Pierre (Lundstrom), a smart young man who tries to avoid the bullies by staying quiet at school, but his association with Erik begins to garner him attention.  Erik starts a romantic relationship with Marja (Zilliacus), a worker in the cafeteria, which eventually leads to her expulsion (as staff members aren't able to have romantic relationships with students).  When Marja leaves (and Pierre switches schools), the two people holding back Erik's rage are gone, and Erik shows the true "evil" within himself by reacting violently to Otto, threatening to kill him but not actually doing it.  The film ends with Erik controlling the rage within him only for good, finding a way to end the violence with his stepfather by showing that he is now stronger than him (off-screen, we are meant to assume that Erik violently enacts vengeance on his stepfather), and threatening the school with a lawsuit for not protecting their students (and in the process, he is able to graduate).

Evil is a weird film to be nominated for an Oscar.  Occasionally in the Foreign Language film category, movies that wouldn't have a shot at being nominated in the traditional Best Picture race are able to overcome that barrier here (for reasons I can't entirely explain).  It's not a complicated movie-the conversations about abuse are pretty prosaic, particularly for 2003, and none of the characters (as written) are complicated, mostly just two-dimensional portrayals.  There's also a weird amount of homoeroticism that runs through the film for no apparent reason, particularly in Otto's character & his actions toward Erik, that I didn't quite get (it's so blatant, and yet there's virtually no commentary from the screenwriter whatsoever as to why).

That said, Evil is saved by solid performances.  Wilson brings a menacing glare to his character that I liked, and his work is far more compelling than what is coming from the script.  Skarsgard (yes, of those Skarsgards), is also quite good, a menacing pretty boy who is more curious about his violence than in learning anything about its consequences.  These performances are strong enough to save the movie from cliche & heavy-handedness, but not to actually make it Oscar-worthy.  Evil thus comes across as a decent enough movie, but in terms of Oscar, nothing more than a novelty.