by Tim Gordon
On the surface, Bad Apples might look like a darkly comic classroom drama, the story of one teacher pushed to her breaking point. But Jonatan Etzler’s English-language debut quickly reveals itself as something more daring and more provocative: a satire about authority, frustration, and the dangerous fantasy of taking control when the system refuses to help.
Adapted from Rasmus Andersson’s novel De Oönskade by Jess O’Kane, the film straddles the line between comedy and thriller, often daring its audience to question how far is too far.
Saoirse Ronan plays Maria, a young and well-meaning teacher whose optimism is eroded day by day by one particularly unruly student, Danny (Eddie Waller). He isn’t just disruptive, he’s relentless, embodying the kind of nightmare pupil every teacher dreads. Maria turns to her superiors for help, only to find bureaucratic indifference, hollow platitudes, and zero real support. Feeling isolated, ignored, and on the verge of collapse, Maria takes matters into her own hands. What she does and the consequences that follow are audacious, unsettling, and bound to divide audiences.
That tension is the film’s lifeblood. Bad Apples thrives on its taboo subject matter, playing with every teacher’s whispered “what if” fantasy, then twisting it into a story of moral ambiguity and unnerving suspense. The humor is jet-black, often landing a laugh one moment and a gasp the next. For some viewers, the story will feel like a catharsis, a darkly comic revenge tale against institutional failure. For others, it will feel like a grotesque breach of morality, a nightmare scenario that gleefully crosses the line. Etzler seems aware of this divide, deliberately pushing his audience into discomfort as often as he entertains them.
Ronan is superb at the film’s center. Her performance is layered with empathy, frustration, and a slow-burning rage that feels painfully human. She never lets Maria slip into caricature. We feel her exhaustion, her loneliness, and her desperate desire to regain control. Eddie Waller, as Danny, is equally impressive: his portrayal is so convincingly abrasive that he becomes both the villain and, paradoxically, a victim, a reminder of the uncomfortable gray area where the story lives.
The supporting cast helps ground the satire in broader social critique. Jacob Anderson brings warmth as a colleague who offers Maria small glimpses of solidarity, while Rakie Ayola, as her no-nonsense superior, embodies the institutional rigidity that leaves teachers like Maria stranded. Together, they reflect a system more interested in self-preservation than in helping either educators or students.
Visually, Etzler heightens the claustrophobia of the classroom, framing Maria’s descent as if the walls themselves are closing in. The cinematography leans toward stark realism, amplifying the absurdity of Maria’s choices by placing them in such a familiar environment. There are no stylized flourishes to distance the viewer; the school feels real, the problems feel recognizable, which makes the satire hit harder.
In the end, Bad Apples is a film designed to provoke strong reactions. It is audacious, uncomfortable, and darkly funny, with Ronan delivering a performance that anchors its more extreme turns in raw humanity. Whether you laugh, squirm, or recoil, the film makes sure you’ll leave the theater with something to talk about. And in an age where so many stories play it safe, that alone feels like a success.
Grade: B-
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