Jonatan Etzler’s “Bad Apples” is one of those films that takes a premise so outrageous you’ll laugh at the absurdity then uncomfortably realize just how plausible it really is. Adapted from Rasmus Andersson’s 2020 novel “De Oönskade,” this satirical thriller finds its wicked humor in the murky spaces where morality bends to convenience.
Maria (Saoirse Ronan) is a primary school teacher who’s already barely keeping it together when she encounters Danny (Eddie Waller), a ferociously disruptive student whose verbal and physical outbursts throw her entire class into chaos. After Danny sparks a violent altercation, Maria snaps and winds up with him locked in her basement. What begins as an “accident” quickly becomes a new way of life that Maria finds disturbingly easy to justify, especially as the community around her seems just as happy to have Danny gone.
Etzler pushes the satire with confidence, blending caustic humor with thriller beats to create a story that’s equal parts funny, unsettling, and thought-provoking. What’s most striking is how easily the situation escalates. There’s no grand conspiracy here nor any monstrous villains, just ordinary people looking the other way because it makes their lives simpler. Where the film lands its hardest punch is showing how quickly values can be abandoned when they no longer serve a purpose.
Ronan is terrific here, grounding Maria’s increasingly outrageous choices with an exasperated authenticity. She’s funny, flawed, and scarily relatable. Waller is equally excellent as an emotionally troubled young man who somehow remains sympathetic even as you want to throttle him. Together, they make for an uneasy pairing that drives the film.
While the film isn’t especially profound or shocking in its twists, its originality lies in its refusal to let the audience off the hook. Watching Maria’s decisions spiral, you can’t help but ask yourself what you might do if placed in her situation. Most of us would like to think we’d never cross that line, but Etzler suggests that once you take one small step, the next becomes frighteningly easy.
I think teachers in particular will gravitate towards “Bad Apples” because it feels so close to real life. This is a sharp, twisted, dark, daring, and wickedly funny satire.
By: Louisa Moore
