Director: Ruth Platt
Cast: Robert Hands, Evan Bendall, Dolya Govanski, Michaela Prchalová
Certificate: 15
Running Time: 107 minutes
In a bid to bring the films of Frightfest to the masses, last year Icon Film Distribution joined forces with the festival runner to create digital platform Frightfest Presents. The first wave featured six films; Night of the Living Deb, Some Kind of Hate, The Sand, Afterdeath, Estranged, and Aaaaaaaah!, and were released back in October. Now the second wave of films, which will be staggered as two releases a week, have arrived starting with one our our festival favourites The Lesson.
Remember that teacher at school that always seemed a little nervous around the boisterous kids? Well now imagine that one day he snapped and decided to fight back with knowledge (and power tools), and you have the basic premise of The Lesson.
One of the few Frightfest offerings this year to be directed by a female, The Lesson is a grounded and grisly study of the relationship between teachers and pupils in today’s chav-riddled society. Set in an underprivileged part of Britain, The Lesson starts off channelling Ken Loach‘s Kes before descending into a much more familiar torture setting reminiscent of Big Bad Wolves.
Ruth Platt wrote and directed The Lesson, a film that is so modernly British that, as good as it is, it is also a little cringe inducing. The cringe being that sadly this is what our British society has been reduced to – impoverished people, chav culture and a frustrated emasculated educational system.
The Lesson deserves your attention not just for the commentary on the failings of the British educational system, but also for the strong solid performances from Robert Hands as tormented teacher Mr. Gale, and Evan Bendall as tortured student Fin. Bendall is strong and likeable as troubled teen Fin who has a slight oedipal issue with his brother’s girlfriend, who is also his surrogate mother, Mia. It is Hands though who completely steals the show as overworked and under-appreciated teacher Mr. Gale. The memory of Hands must be formidable as big chunks of the film feature him giving epic monologues.
An odd example of enabling audiences to see both sides of the argument, The Lesson will have the audience change allegiance from one side to another as the story progresses. Yes it would work well on the stage, but Platt’s deft use of framing and editing means that you get an extra emotional kick that you just couldn’t experience in the same way in theatre.
It being a tale involving torture there is of course blood, so don’t worry gore fans you’ll be kept happy. This isn’t cheap just for the thrill torture either, there is genuine reasoning behind it which in a perverse way makes some sense. Remember we once had the cane in schools…
The Lesson is a brilliantly written and superbly acted twist in the torture film catalogue.
The Lesson is available to download on via Frightfest Presents now.
