Review: The Plague
Official synopsis: A socially awkward tween, Ben (Everett Blunck) endures the ruthless hierarchy at a water polo camp, his anxiety spiraling into psychological turmoil over the summer.
If you're a parent of a t(w)een, mainly a teenage boy, buckle up. Watching a group of kids my son's own age like this in a film made me want to scream. I promise, this film is good! But I wanted to scream.
Kids can be cruel, especially kids like Jake (Kayo Martin) who is a ring leader that no one wants to cross, even if they know piling on Eli (Kenny Rasmussen) is wrong. Eli is already different, he's very much coded as being on the spectrum, but he's also clearly having an eczema flare up and thus gets labeled the titular "plague."
Ben tries to befriend Eli, he knows what Jake and the other boys are doing is wrong, but his own anxieties start to the best of him. Plus, he's at a sleepaway camp, there's really no one he can go to aside from his coach, Daddy Wags (Joel Edgerton) and who wants to be labeled a snitch?
I thought this film did a great job of showing how those insecurities can manifest in almost a body-horror type way. Because I can't help but think of my own kid, of course I felt way too deeply about everything and wanted to micromanage all their problems, but this is life. The child actors are all brilliant. Blunck, Martin, and Rasmussen have a lot to carry with their characters and they do a great job. Edgerton isn't in it as much, but he's a welcomed presence when he's on screen.
There's also some stunning underwater camera work that I really liked. This is director Charlie Polinger's first feature and you can tell he put a lot of work into framing those scenes. It paid off well.
Grade: B
I have heard good things about this. I hope to see it on streaming. Plus, I heard Kayo Martin is great as this evil little shit.
ReplyDeleteHe is fantastic, but it was so hard for me to watch because he looks like one of my son's friends who is just the sweetest kid lol.
DeleteThis is Birgit and this sounds like a really good film and one I can relate to since I was so severely bullied When in High School. Kids can not only be cruel but downright scary. With the bullying I received back in the late 70s, without social media, I can’t imagine now. You seem to be a wonderful mom and, if your child ever shuts down, doesn’t talk much, sits in his room and you can sense the trouble…keep talking to him and tell him you are there. My mom pleaded with me, but, I believed the kids thinking my parents just have to put up with me and I would be better off dead. The one nasty bitch told me to kill myself as everyone would breathe a sigh of relief. My mom never gave up and held my hand and begged me to talk, but I wouldn’t. She told me, remember, the birds always sing in the morning. One morning, after another night of insomnia, I went to the kitchen, it was 4:30ish. I took out the big butcher knife and was thinking about the Japanese way when…I heard the birds sing! I then imagined my parents finding me there on the floor. I put the knife back and literally slapped myself for being so selfish and not thinking bout how they would feel. My mom was my saviour just by her words of love. You will always be there for your kids. Sorry for blubbering on but I know you will be great if ever they start to go inwards.
ReplyDeleteDon't apologize for blubbering! I loved reading that story and I'm so grateful your mom was there for you and that you're here and I can read your words. <3
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