December 21, 2009
Cracks, based on the book by Sheila Kohler, is the debut film of Jordan Scott, daughter of Ridley Scott (whose name also appears in the credits). It tells of a group of girls in a boarding school, with a free spirit of a teacher, Miss G., leading them. Into the mixture comes a Spanish student who, unintentionally but irrevocably, changes the whole balance of the group. The film is beautifully acted and directed, with atmospheric views of highlands and lakes and gloomy school corridors, although I did find the music a bit clichéd.
In the end one girl is damaged and one girl is set free and the teacher has to leave: does this sound a bit familiar? The Prime of Miss Who? In some ways this film is very similar to that classic and to other films with a similar theme, such as Dead Poets’ Society. Some students are indeed set free by the liberating influence of the teacher, some are damaged because of the restrictions of the world around them. How this film differs is that the teacher here is also damaged. We never get the whole picture, we just have glimpses of her earlier life and we gradually realise that this island school is a sort of prison for unwanted girls. The teacher herself is unable to live in the normal world and we have to ask ourselves why – but we never really have the answer.
Sheila Kohler was born in South Africa and the book, I believe, was also set in South Africa but, as the author appears on the credits as an associate producer, one assumes that she approved of this version of her story. She says on her own website that, after her sister died a violent death during the apartheid years, she ‘was driven to explore the reasons for violence within intimate relationships, in particular, the abuse of power and privilege’. In Cracks, Miss G. abuses her position of power over her impressionable students and takes extreme measures to protect herself when the Spanish student challenges this position, although the challenge comes from a sad and thoughtful girl, not an aggressor. This is a beautifully crafted film with stunning scenery and great acting but it does not really break new ground.
In the end one girl is damaged and one girl is set free and the teacher has to leave: does this sound a bit familiar? The Prime of Miss Who? In some ways this film is very similar to that classic and to other films with a similar theme, such as Dead Poets’ Society. Some students are indeed set free by the liberating influence of the teacher, some are damaged because of the restrictions of the world around them. How this film differs is that the teacher here is also damaged. We never get the whole picture, we just have glimpses of her earlier life and we gradually realise that this island school is a sort of prison for unwanted girls. The teacher herself is unable to live in the normal world and we have to ask ourselves why – but we never really have the answer.
Sheila Kohler was born in South Africa and the book, I believe, was also set in South Africa but, as the author appears on the credits as an associate producer, one assumes that she approved of this version of her story. She says on her own website that, after her sister died a violent death during the apartheid years, she ‘was driven to explore the reasons for violence within intimate relationships, in particular, the abuse of power and privilege’. In Cracks, Miss G. abuses her position of power over her impressionable students and takes extreme measures to protect herself when the Spanish student challenges this position, although the challenge comes from a sad and thoughtful girl, not an aggressor. This is a beautifully crafted film with stunning scenery and great acting but it does not really break new ground.