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Cracks
In a remote and foreboding female boarding
school, the most elite clique of girls are the members of the school’s
illustrious diving team.
So elite are they, in fact, that we barely
catch a glimpse of the other students throughout the film’s entire
runtime, and a good 95% of the film’s dialogue is spoken by either the
members of this group or their worldly, neurotic and closet Sapphic
diving teacher Miss G (Eva Green, Casino Royale). While this
serves to heighten the atmosphere of this already tense film and
emphasises the cloistered nature of in-group dynamics it does start to
induce a sense of claustrophobia such that by the end of the movie the
viewer may well be left gasping for air.
Much like its protagonist, a beautiful
asthmatic Spanish heiress Fiamma (Maria Valverde) who is sent to
experience the wonders of the 1930s British boarding school system
following a romantic scandal in her homeland. Yes, she’s asthmatic, yes
it is obvious from the get-go that this will be significant and yes you
can probably guess how the film will end. At any rate Fiamma is not
entirely popular with the diving group, let by prissy bitch Di (the
astonishingly unappealing Juno Temple, Year One), who mercilessly
bully her one minute then act besotted the next. Miss G displays no
such confusing inconsistency, acting at first beguiled, then enchanted,
then enraptured, then crazy. Then the film builds towards a highly
melodramatic conclusion; add a bit more crazy, stir, add a teensy bit
more contradictory behaviour, a final parting shot of Di, who by this
point will either inspire loathing or apathy but not the intended
sympathy from the viewer, then fade to black.
The problem with Cracks, the debut
feature from director Jordan ‘daughter of Ridley’ Scott, is that its
characters never seem to know what the hell they’re doing or why they’re
doing it. This becomes confusing after a while, then merely irritating,
and as the inconsistencies pile up any chance the film had of
culminating in a meaningful way largely dissipates. Eva Green is
excellent as the conflicted teacher inhabiting a fantasy world, and
Valverde also puts in an exquisitely understated and believable
performance. The rest of the cast are however so unlikable as to arouse
disgust or so underdeveloped that they may as well have been
mannequins. Cracks had plenty of potential and could well have
been mesmerising from start to finish, but the affected plum-in-mouth
performance of Temple and sizable incoherencies of plot mean this one
falls through the gaps in its own logic. Enjoyable and promising, but
ultimately a disappointment.
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 anamorphically
enhanced widescreen
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1 English
surround, DD English 2.0
Subtitles: English descriptive
Descriptive Audio: Yes
Bonus Features: None |
