I come from a family of teachers. Both my parents are primary school teachers, and many other relatives of mine have worked in a primary school to some capacity. It is arguably the most important stage of a child’s education, requiring them to learn the fundamentals of some of the most important subjects that they will then go on to use throughout their whole lives. Many of my family members have been teachers for a long time, and that is generally because the good outweighs the bad. Yes, they certainly could be paid more, due to how important their job is, and they often have to deal with difficulties with some pupils. But seeing pupils flourish throughout their time at primary school to be essentially set up to function as a person is always a rewarding prospect. My Mum has been a teacher since before I was born, and she has seen it all. Difficult kids who disrupt everyone, making the learning environment harder, kids who have problems at home that reflect in their presence at school; all teachers will experience it, and if they are not given the necessary support to deal with it, it can become very frustrating. Bad Apples takes this problem very head on, focusing on a teacher with one very disruptive student in her class that is ruining it for everyone. It takes a very absurdist approach to this problem and for some it will work well. For me, it does not go far enough in its tongue-in-cheek leanings, resulting in a film that is in parts satirical and absurdist, but jarringly social-realist in others. Whilst it certainly makes the film a good watch and full of tension, it can feel disjointed in the way it handles its tonal approach and thus a bit messy.

Bad Apples stars Saoirse Ronan as Maria, a teacher at the Ashton Brooks primary school in Somerset. She loves her class and is very passionate about making sure they excel in their learning, especially since her students are nearing the end of their primary school era with SATs (Standard Assessment Tests) coming up. But there is one boy, Danny (Eddie Waller), who keeps everybody in the class distracted. Whether it be his outbursts of profanity, deliberate attempts to stop Maria from teaching, or even eruptions of violence, Maria knows that his continued disruption is going to be detrimental to her whole class’s SATs results and their education in general. She pleads to the headteacher, Sylvia (Rakie Ayola), to get Danny help, but she refuses and tells her it is her job to tame him and stop his disruption, particularly considering Ofsted are due to visit the school very soon. After a complication with a school trip and a grievous injury to another student, both of which were caused by Danny, Maria takes things into her own hands. After learning of his dad’s repeated neglect of Danny, Maria runs into him, and an altercation results in Maria inadvertently knocking Danny out. To protect her reputation, she kidnaps Danny and cares for him herself. Immediately, with Danny absent from the class, things are better. There is true engagement from the pupils and a willingness to learn. However, with Danny getting more agitated, and a investigation into his disappearance being looked into by the police, it becomes clear to Maria that she cannot keep this up forever.

As you can probably tell from that synopsis, Bad Apples certainly is not subtle about what it is trying to say, nor does it need to be. This is a shout from the rooftops, crying out for change in schools to deal with these problems that many teachers face. The fact that Sylvia, the headteacher, immediately places the responsibility on Maria to deal with Danny is an example of how broken this system is. She already has to juggle multiple kids, nurturing them to be obedient, good listeners, and, most of all, to make sure they learn. Having one student actively trying to ruin that process is enough to spoil it for everyone, and I do not think that idea is overdramatised in this film. The first half hour of this film feels very raw and realistic to what it would be like to be a teacher in that situation. With how extreme Danny is, Maria is often scared to challenge him, but she has to keep that brave face on for the children, keeping herself as the point of authority. It is moments like this that Saoirse Ronan really shines, conflicted in giving in to her own emotions due to the intensity of the situation, but making sure the other kids can see her as their pillar of protection. Once Danny is removed from the picture, that facade does not even have to exist, and she can be free around the kids. She is much more cheerful and in her element, knowing she is able to do her job properly and do what she is passionate about. Perhaps the most interesting idea Bad Apples brings up is the parents’ responses to Danny’s disappearance. Since their kids are doing well, in large part due to Danny’s absence, they are unbothered by it. This certainly speaks to the selfishness of parents when it comes to their own children’s well-being, and it is genuinely put across in a way that is believable. All of the issues raised make sense, and if this film is to be remembered for anything, it would be that.

My main issue with Bad Apples is that its attempt to blend its social-realist approach with that of a satirical and absurdist comedy does not work. From the concept as a whole, this obviously has to be an absurdist piece, and thus have some strong comedic elements. Of course, comedy is incredibly subjective, and I am not the dictator of what is and is not funny, but I just do not think this is anywhere near funny enough. As mentioned before, the first half hour of this is quite dark and is mostly absent of any comedy whatsoever. So as soon as any comedy comes in, it feels awkward and out of place. There has to be littering of comedy throughout that first act or so, or at least more than there is here. Beyond the first act, there is a bit of comedy, particularly surrounding the teacher’s pet, Pauline (Nia Brown), and whilst that is good fun, it does not have any sort of laugh-out-loud factor. I go back to Weapons a lot when I think about how darker genres like thrillers and horror can juggle comedy, and I think that has the perfect structure. It starts off quite gruelling with some slight hints of comedy, and it gets more daft, slapstick and laugh-out-loud hilarious as long as it goes on. It has a natural progression that a film like Bad Apples simply does not. Whilst Bad Apples certainly has comedic moments, there are not enough of those moments, nor are they funny enough to carry that genre blend with any gravitas. It’s a shame because it certainly has all the pieces needed to make this work. The tense moments are electric, and they really get you wriggling around in your seat, the third act being a strong highlight for that reason. But I simply could not get past this film’s inability to properly strive for that absurdist and satirical lane; it just needed more.

I found Bad Apples to have some great ideas and some strong writing, but it ultimately falls short of the mark. Its lack of conviction to fully hammer home its absurdist satirical nature leaves it gasping for a bit more levity. Without any comedy at all, this film would be interesting, but probably a bit too dark, and I do not understand why they did not give it both barrels with plentiful, well-written comedy in order to sap away some of that darkness, at least to a greater degree than shown. It leaves the whole thing feeling like an awkward mess, and it left me feeling a bit sour towards the end. Your mileage may vary, as you may in fact find that this is very funny and therefore a great example of a dark comedy, and for that reason I would encourage you to see what you think yourself! It just did not land for me this time, and perhaps another watch may yield different results. There are certainly things I did enjoy, namely Saoirse Ronan, who is magnetic as always, and I think its comments on schools and support work are well-placed and deeply necessary. Overall, this is a decent film that may have disappointed me in some aspects, but there is something worthwhile to be found here.