70 reviews
Through the eyes of children.
- PippinInOz
- Dec 23, 2011
- Permalink
The most important thing in life is desire
Cracks
- jaredmobarak
- Sep 15, 2009
- Permalink
Unexpectedly dark, with excellent performances
The foundations are similar: a tightly regimented boarding school, and one cavalier staff member who encourages nonconformity and an independent spirit. From this basis arises themes of social cliques, jealousy and unequal obsession, petty cruelty, secrets, anxieties, a facade and pretense belying actual lack of knowledge or experience, and still more story or character ideas lending to considerable tension. None of this is particularly remarkable, perhaps, save for the extremity to which all such notions are taken - where other titles have explored such ideas with a mind toward light fantasy, or coming of age, 'Cracks' instead becomes astoundingly bleak, and almost altogether horrifying. For all that, it's increasingly compelling, though one way or another this ranges from "hard to watch" to "surely not appealing for all."
The movie does boast concrete narrative threads, especially in the character arc of Miss G, though they are loosely assembled such that strictly speaking it never feels like we're being propelled in a specific direction. All this may not sound like much, but as the length advances and dynamics become more severe, the tableau becomes unexpectedly dark and forceful, and likewise more actively engaging as events build toward some inevitably terrible conclusion. Through it all I can only commend the cast for their fine performances, not least the younger members of the ensemble. Juno Temple, María Valverde, and Imogen Poots portray the chief students Di, Fiamma, and Poppy with vibrant life and harsh personality, such that even if the story were centered only on these three it would be quite absorbing. Eva Green, meanwhile - force of nature that she is, able to speak volumes with only the slightest of gazes or facial expressions - has rarely taken on a role so unremittingly dreary as Miss G. That says a lot, given her list of credits; either way, as expected she navigates the part with all the tremendous nuance and skill we know she possesses.
Ultimately 'Cracks' comes off more as a character drama than anything else, a slant which may serve in some measure to limit its audience. Such as it is, however, at length I believe the writing and direction are wonderfully strong, tying together a feature that can also claim fabulous filming locations, production design, art direction, and costume design. Overall I think this is very worthwhile on its own merits; however, even at its most taut and grim it's never perfectly captivating. I enjoyed watching, yet it also feels like something is missing, one or two puzzle pieces without which the image is less than whole. It's hard to put into words exactly what the issue is, though in any case this is purely subjective. And even if it's not flawless, by and large I'm pleased to have spent time with this movie, and it earns a soft recommendation. Suggested above all for fans of Green or the other cast members, 'Cracks' may not be entirely essential, but it's a well made picture, and worth checking out if you have the chance.
The movie does boast concrete narrative threads, especially in the character arc of Miss G, though they are loosely assembled such that strictly speaking it never feels like we're being propelled in a specific direction. All this may not sound like much, but as the length advances and dynamics become more severe, the tableau becomes unexpectedly dark and forceful, and likewise more actively engaging as events build toward some inevitably terrible conclusion. Through it all I can only commend the cast for their fine performances, not least the younger members of the ensemble. Juno Temple, María Valverde, and Imogen Poots portray the chief students Di, Fiamma, and Poppy with vibrant life and harsh personality, such that even if the story were centered only on these three it would be quite absorbing. Eva Green, meanwhile - force of nature that she is, able to speak volumes with only the slightest of gazes or facial expressions - has rarely taken on a role so unremittingly dreary as Miss G. That says a lot, given her list of credits; either way, as expected she navigates the part with all the tremendous nuance and skill we know she possesses.
Ultimately 'Cracks' comes off more as a character drama than anything else, a slant which may serve in some measure to limit its audience. Such as it is, however, at length I believe the writing and direction are wonderfully strong, tying together a feature that can also claim fabulous filming locations, production design, art direction, and costume design. Overall I think this is very worthwhile on its own merits; however, even at its most taut and grim it's never perfectly captivating. I enjoyed watching, yet it also feels like something is missing, one or two puzzle pieces without which the image is less than whole. It's hard to put into words exactly what the issue is, though in any case this is purely subjective. And even if it's not flawless, by and large I'm pleased to have spent time with this movie, and it earns a soft recommendation. Suggested above all for fans of Green or the other cast members, 'Cracks' may not be entirely essential, but it's a well made picture, and worth checking out if you have the chance.
- I_Ailurophile
- Nov 20, 2022
- Permalink
At a wealthy boarding school, a dangerous love triangle erupts into savagery when a repressed teacher targets a precocious aristocrat.
- pameladegraff
- Nov 20, 2013
- Permalink
Interesting Film
- Prodigy_Enlighten
- Apr 13, 2010
- Permalink
Haunting, impactful drama
- gridoon2024
- Sep 20, 2014
- Permalink
Good but predictable story line
The story is quite good, easy to follow and the movie illustrates well how jealousy can result in bullying and ultimately into hate. Beautiful water shots and interesting story. The story is set in 1930's England and the arrival of a beautiful cultured girl stirs up everything. She's beautiful and talented but the school she is attending is backwards thinking and it seems that everybody just wants to carry on with the way the school has been run. The new Spanish pupil has a health condition which takes a predictable turn into the movie which a shame. Otherwise very good movie and well thought through dialogs.
The end is a bit short and abrupt.
The end is a bit short and abrupt.
Intriguing psychological thriller
'Cracks' is a low-key, slow burning psychological drama with a dark and unexpected ending. The emphasis on dialogue and character development makes for a pleasant surprise and is not something you typically expect from a modern day thriller.
I thought Eva Green delivered the stand out performance of the film as the mysterious and unpredictable Miss G. She was excellent throughout. The film does well to sustain tension for large parts of the film as the relationship between Fiamma, her classmates and Miss G develops. Despite its slow pace, 'Cracks' is never short on drama.
Those who enjoy unpredictable and tense psychological thrillers should give this film a chance. It is one of the more thoughtful and intelligent thrillers out there.
I thought Eva Green delivered the stand out performance of the film as the mysterious and unpredictable Miss G. She was excellent throughout. The film does well to sustain tension for large parts of the film as the relationship between Fiamma, her classmates and Miss G develops. Despite its slow pace, 'Cracks' is never short on drama.
Those who enjoy unpredictable and tense psychological thrillers should give this film a chance. It is one of the more thoughtful and intelligent thrillers out there.
- adamonIMDb
- Feb 13, 2017
- Permalink
We can become devils or angels, but as children, we are both
The film also reminded me of Lord of the Flies. It was like a cinematic challenge: can the same horror emerge from the humanity of children if they are girls, not boys, and they are in a prestigious English school, not lost on a wild island. The answer is yes! I feel that I spoil quite a lot saying more, so enough said.
This film is very well played by all actors, including the young girls, directed beautifully and using both impressive scenery and great costumes. What I found a little odd was the speed with which the girls were switching from best friends to evil witches and back again. I am told children are like that, so I should have probably ignored that some of the girls there were hot as hell and considered them all well under age.
Eva Green played a complex character, easy to sympathize with at times, easy to loathe at others. She carried this film almost to perfection.
Bottom line: I kept this film in my private collection. I think it is a must see.
This film is very well played by all actors, including the young girls, directed beautifully and using both impressive scenery and great costumes. What I found a little odd was the speed with which the girls were switching from best friends to evil witches and back again. I am told children are like that, so I should have probably ignored that some of the girls there were hot as hell and considered them all well under age.
Eva Green played a complex character, easy to sympathize with at times, easy to loathe at others. She carried this film almost to perfection.
Bottom line: I kept this film in my private collection. I think it is a must see.
Cracks
Set in the 1930s, Eva Green is Miss G, a swimming / diving instructor at an exclusive girls boarding school and adored by her team of girls, captained by Di played by Juno Temple. They are enthralled by her tales and claims of worldly experience and travel which soon turns out not to be true. In fact, the team dynamic soon changes when an actual worldly wise and travelled Spanish girl joins the school who Miss G favours much to the anger of the other girls, particularly Di.
There has been some criticism that this is largely atmosphere over plot and there is some justification for this. That said, as with many sinister school stories, there are vicious undertones here and it all neatly builds through considerable tension to a shocking finale. Everyone in this is does a fine job and Eva Green has always been cut out for this sort of role, supported here by the growing stardom and acting talent of Juno Temple.
There has been some criticism that this is largely atmosphere over plot and there is some justification for this. That said, as with many sinister school stories, there are vicious undertones here and it all neatly builds through considerable tension to a shocking finale. Everyone in this is does a fine job and Eva Green has always been cut out for this sort of role, supported here by the growing stardom and acting talent of Juno Temple.
Psychological drama at a girl's boarding school
CRACKS is an intense psychological drama set in a boarding school for girls. The storyline is quite predictable insofar as such topics as passion, lust, sex, bullying, abuse, peer group pressure, and power politics are brought to the fore, and they're all subjects that have been done previously on film. Yet at the same time this low budget production has a sheen of quality to it, an air of lyricism that makes it watchable.
Eva Green headlines as the seductive teacher who's a subject of affection for many of the girls in her care. Green can do no wrong in my eyes and gives a typically assured and confident role. Juno Temple is the main villain of the piece and is well cast because there's something repulsive about her character that Temple nails ever so well. The rest of the cast are fine, although Maria Valverde is never quite as sympathetic as she should be.
CRACKS is a slow moving film in which little really happens until the end, and yet there is some suspense here, as well as drama. Nothing is very explicit and yet the themes explored are nonetheless powerful, and the ending is suitably horrific. It's not the sort of film that's going to set the world on fire, but it engrosses all the same.
Eva Green headlines as the seductive teacher who's a subject of affection for many of the girls in her care. Green can do no wrong in my eyes and gives a typically assured and confident role. Juno Temple is the main villain of the piece and is well cast because there's something repulsive about her character that Temple nails ever so well. The rest of the cast are fine, although Maria Valverde is never quite as sympathetic as she should be.
CRACKS is a slow moving film in which little really happens until the end, and yet there is some suspense here, as well as drama. Nothing is very explicit and yet the themes explored are nonetheless powerful, and the ending is suitably horrific. It's not the sort of film that's going to set the world on fire, but it engrosses all the same.
- Leofwine_draca
- Aug 8, 2016
- Permalink
A Masterpiece
A very nice person suggested me to transcribe, what I actually wrote on boards about this movie, as a review, so here we go. In the first place, I decided that this movie became one of my all-time favourites... and why is that I 'decided'? Because the more I thought of this movie after watching it, the more I liked it. And what I mean by that is, the main reason I loved this film, would probably be because of the feeling it generated on me. It felt like I was reading a book, an actual & good one, you know, because of its twists, its dramatic scenes and the complexity of its characters & emotions.
I liked the way it explores human emotions and relationships but centered in a darker side, let's just say. The dichotomy showed was so well made. It was all so real and so unreal at the same time. Besides, it certainly shows us the thin line that exists between desire and obsession. PLUS, the fact that such things are still going on nowadays, which makes it very realistic.
Even though I do know this movie is in fact based on a book, I can't really comment from that perspective since I didn't read it, but anyway that's not my point here... The way I see it, In my opinion, this film is so smart, intriguing, fascinating and so beautifully executed that not only will stay with you long afterwards but also will make you talk, comment about it with others, you know, and that's just simply the kind of movie I love to watch but unfortunately, there aren't enough films like this.
In addition to that: The cinematography was just... breathtaking. The locations... esthetically pleasing. The soundtrack... impeccable. The wardrobe... simply gorgeous.
And well, what to say about the actings? They were just... impressive, top-notch, especially Eva Green's one, which was jaw-dropping. She literally gave me the chills with her performance. She left me fascinated. That being said, Jordan Scott you are (ei) genius! Needless to say, I'm looking forward to see more of your work.
I liked the way it explores human emotions and relationships but centered in a darker side, let's just say. The dichotomy showed was so well made. It was all so real and so unreal at the same time. Besides, it certainly shows us the thin line that exists between desire and obsession. PLUS, the fact that such things are still going on nowadays, which makes it very realistic.
Even though I do know this movie is in fact based on a book, I can't really comment from that perspective since I didn't read it, but anyway that's not my point here... The way I see it, In my opinion, this film is so smart, intriguing, fascinating and so beautifully executed that not only will stay with you long afterwards but also will make you talk, comment about it with others, you know, and that's just simply the kind of movie I love to watch but unfortunately, there aren't enough films like this.
In addition to that: The cinematography was just... breathtaking. The locations... esthetically pleasing. The soundtrack... impeccable. The wardrobe... simply gorgeous.
And well, what to say about the actings? They were just... impressive, top-notch, especially Eva Green's one, which was jaw-dropping. She literally gave me the chills with her performance. She left me fascinated. That being said, Jordan Scott you are (ei) genius! Needless to say, I'm looking forward to see more of your work.
- Francesca_3
- Nov 14, 2012
- Permalink
Worth watching but better if you don't have high expectations
Cracks left me with mixed feelings. On the plus side, I kept thinking about the film after it ended. On the negative side, I kept thinking about things that felt not quite right.
The film feels long and a bit predictable in the second half, but the character dynamics are interesting and the cinematography is beautiful.
I was particularly impressed by Juno Temple. The other young actresses are good too - it's fascinating to watch the group mentality. Eva Green seems to be cultivating and sticking to her signature sexy, vulnerable, charismatic style. Her eyes look more enormous than ever and her performance is theatrical. I think I was hoping for more subtlety.
I guess that's the thing about the entire film. It plays at subtlety but really it's quite obvious. Like in the scene where Di consoles a crying Miss G., after the Fiamma incident, I wanted just a fleeting glimpse of the calculated mania in Miss. G.'s eyes, not a drawn out shot.
The film feels long and a bit predictable in the second half, but the character dynamics are interesting and the cinematography is beautiful.
I was particularly impressed by Juno Temple. The other young actresses are good too - it's fascinating to watch the group mentality. Eva Green seems to be cultivating and sticking to her signature sexy, vulnerable, charismatic style. Her eyes look more enormous than ever and her performance is theatrical. I think I was hoping for more subtlety.
I guess that's the thing about the entire film. It plays at subtlety but really it's quite obvious. Like in the scene where Di consoles a crying Miss G., after the Fiamma incident, I wanted just a fleeting glimpse of the calculated mania in Miss. G.'s eyes, not a drawn out shot.
"The Most Important Thing In Life Is Desire"
Surprisingly good drama about fatal attraction
This film is about a young female teacher in a prestigious British boarding school. She develops a special interest in one of her pupils, causing catastrophic changes in group dynamics.
"Cracks" is such a big surprise. It is technically well made, with great cinematography throughout. The best thing is that the plot is well told, it is engaging throughout the whole story. Every emotion and feeling is conveyed by expert story telling, such as the mood of the scene and the body language of actresses. They draw viewers into their world, and into their feelings. One can easily tell Miss G's attraction, confusion and panic; Di's jealousy and Fiamma's emotional change throughout the film. Such an empathy inducing film is rarely seen nowadays.
I do recommend "Cracks", and I hope it will reach a wider audience.
"Cracks" is such a big surprise. It is technically well made, with great cinematography throughout. The best thing is that the plot is well told, it is engaging throughout the whole story. Every emotion and feeling is conveyed by expert story telling, such as the mood of the scene and the body language of actresses. They draw viewers into their world, and into their feelings. One can easily tell Miss G's attraction, confusion and panic; Di's jealousy and Fiamma's emotional change throughout the film. Such an empathy inducing film is rarely seen nowadays.
I do recommend "Cracks", and I hope it will reach a wider audience.
Very different than the synopsis depicts.
- rubylerouge
- Feb 7, 2017
- Permalink
Nice complex story but missing a few things.
I loved the complexity of the character miss G; however the obsession she had for tiama was too quick to be believable and i wish they told us more about her backstory and why she is the way she is; i noticed that outside the school or her students she is a completely different person maybe even with social anxiety. Overall the movie is not a bad one i just feel that it is overly dramatic and exaggerated.
- mariamshehab
- Nov 8, 2021
- Permalink
Timely Drama in view of 2011 Penn State Scandal
- vitaleralphlouis
- Dec 2, 2011
- Permalink
Nothing stands between miss G and her desires
- AnthonyMeg
- Nov 12, 2018
- Permalink
Great find!
I came across this film out of desperation the other night...just wanting to watch something decent. What I found was a gem of a movie. I wasn't familiar with anyone in the cast except Eva Green from Dark Shadows, who I didn't really have an opinion of either way and I'm not a fan of boarding school movies of any sort, but I watched it anyway.
Eva Green, as Miss G, was completely captivating and I could picture myself having a school girl crush on her when I was in high school...or heck, maybe even now. Her character comes across as educated, well traveled and totally alluring in every way...until a Spanish transfer student comes to the school and she begins to unravel.
The film is beautifully shot and the music is a perfect compliment to it. I really can't wait to see what else Jordan Scott does next.
Eva Green, as Miss G, was completely captivating and I could picture myself having a school girl crush on her when I was in high school...or heck, maybe even now. Her character comes across as educated, well traveled and totally alluring in every way...until a Spanish transfer student comes to the school and she begins to unravel.
The film is beautifully shot and the music is a perfect compliment to it. I really can't wait to see what else Jordan Scott does next.
Beautifully shot
- whatithinkis
- Sep 18, 2021
- Permalink
Style over substance
'The most important thing in life is desire'
This is an amazingly brilliant film directed by the young Jordan Scott, who is female despite being called Jordan. She is the daughter (I almost said the son) of Ridley Scott and niece of Tony Scott, and after seeing this film I believe she has more artistic talent than both of them put together. It is simply incredible what she achieves in her portrait of an adult driven to madness by desire for a beautiful young creature, and her film really rivals Luchino Visconti's DEATH IN VENICE (1971) in my opinion, although in this film both the desired and the desirer are female, whereas in Visconti's film based on the Thomas Mann novella DER TOD IN VENEDIG, they were both male. (I once had to read the Mann novella in German and nearly fainted when I found a single sentence which was one and a half pages long with the main verb at the end! But that was Mann for you! Delayed gratification!) This film is set in the surreal setting of a remote girl's boarding school on 'Stanley Island' (wherever that is, as we are not told) in the year 1934. The school as seen in the film, a kind of Victorian Gothic pedagogical fantasy, apparently really exists as a structure somewhere in Ireland. But the geographical location is not really important, all that is needed for the story is the visual impression, the sea adjoining, the wild surrounding hills, and the isolation. This we certainly get, and the outside world barely exists in this hot house of passionate longings, schoolgirl intrigues, extreme homesickness verging on hysteria, and the coursing hormones of teenage girls who never get to see a boy. They are all in love with their mysterious and alluring mistress, 'Miss G.', played by the spectacularly weird and wonderful Eva Green (pronounced 'grain' because her father is Swedish and that is what they do there in Sweden during the long winter nights, they pronounce Green as 'grain'). Miss G. dresses exquisitely and has the finest imaginable artistic colour sense and personal style of dress and manner. The costumes in this film are a total knockout, designed by the super-talented Alison Byrne. A great deal of talent was also lavished on the sets and art direction. This is a real treat to the eye. As a production it is stunning in every respect. The fiery personality of Juno Temple (Juno was the Latin name for the queen of the gods, gedditt?, so of course she has to have a Temple) burns holes in the celluloid with her glowering stares of love, resentment, passion, jealousy, hatred, devotion, all those things mixed up which teenaged girls tend to have in such an unsorted state in their feverish psyches. She is a perfect screen match for the hyper-intense Eva Green. Juno is in love with Miss G. but Miss G. has no eyes for her anymore since the arrival of the super-cool, super-calm, super-beautiful Spanish dream dish, played by Spanish actress Maria Valverde, a silent brooding siren who drives Miss G. insane (literally, not just metaphorically). Despite the erotically charged atmosphere of this film, the director is too subtle to allow a single sexual scene. The most we see is Miss G. kissing Maria's neck, but that is enough to get Juno Temple so hysterical with jealousy that she precipitates a Twilight of the Goddesses, herself included. This is steamy stuff, very steamy stuff indeed, and all done without anybody touching anybody. Miss G. presides over a special collection of nymphets who form the school diving team. The team has never competed and the divers are pretty hopeless, but that all changes when the Spanish girl Fiamma turns up. She is an impeccably-dressed aristocrat of considerable sophistication, and all the girls hate her on sight because she is more beautiful and self-possessed than they are. Later, some of them soften. But Juno's main concern is that Fiamma has stolen Miss G.'s affections from her, and that is not to be tolerated. Fiamma suffers from serious asthma and has an inhaler, and, well, you can imagine the ensuing events. Miss G's steady personality disintegration, under the influence of her stifled lesbian passions, and her descent into a kind of sleep-walking insanity over her obsession with Fiamma, are so brilliantly and horrifyingly portrayed by Eva Green that we wonder if she had to go to a sanitarium for some months to recover after making this intense film. As for Juno Temple, I do hope she can now sit up and speak again. It is all very harrowing, deeply disturbing, and so seething with suppressed but never overtly articulated sexuality that they must still be trying to cool down the camera in an ice bucket. As they say in the horrible tabloid newspapers: 'Corrrrr, what a scorcher!'
- robert-temple-1
- Apr 11, 2010
- Permalink
Well Composed (But Not the Music)
Cracks strongest suits are the actresses and the fine cinematography - the boarding school, the lake, the nice countryside, for sure a fine place to live. The story provides a slow turning of a fairy wonderland to a dark and twisted one - but to enjoy Cracks you should be ready to immerse yourself into a world slowly build and give the story time to breath and develop. The only issue I got is the music, which is sometimes all too sweet and too many times babbles and dabbles in the background without any reason. Anyway, a good drama.
- Tweetienator
- May 25, 2022
- Permalink
Soft-Core Porn meets Masterpiece Theater
Cracks is a routine girl's-boarding-school melodrama tricked out with glossy production values. Good cast, beautiful location setting, and a trite, trashy script that exploits the usual salacious imaginings about all-girl schools and the women teachers there.
If you dumped Maedchen in Uniform (the 1950s Lilli Palmer version), Lord of the Flies, and Schoolgirl Capers into a blender and hit the "puree" button, this film is about what you'd get.
It's too bad that such fine young actresses as Maria Valverde and Juno Temple submitted themselves to this degrading exercise. And isn't Eva Green simply the reincarnation of Joan Crawford? Those eyes, how familiar they seem....
If you dumped Maedchen in Uniform (the 1950s Lilli Palmer version), Lord of the Flies, and Schoolgirl Capers into a blender and hit the "puree" button, this film is about what you'd get.
It's too bad that such fine young actresses as Maria Valverde and Juno Temple submitted themselves to this degrading exercise. And isn't Eva Green simply the reincarnation of Joan Crawford? Those eyes, how familiar they seem....
- moriartyreiko
- Jun 2, 2013
- Permalink