Those lazy, hazy, nasty days of summer
Directed by Jordan Scott. Starring Eva Green, Juno Temple, Maria Valverde, Imogen Poots, Sinead Cusack. 15A cert, Cineworld/IMC Dún Laoghaire/Movies@ Dundrum, 104 minutes
WELCOME TO Stanley Island, England circa 1934, and a Catholic girls' boarding school on the remote isle. The students seem quite normal here. They go to confession, practise their hymns, lust after boys and idolise the enigmatic teacher, "Miss G", played by Eva Green and sporting the same flinty accent she used in Casino Royale.
Glamorous and worldly, Miss G coaches the girls in diving and regales them with far-fetched stories of her travels. Her biggest fan is Di (Juno Temple), who, as captain of her dorm room, happily abuses her petty power.
The lives of both Di and Miss G are shaken by the arrival of a new student, Fiamma (Maria Valverde), from Spain. With her exotic accent and hornet-stung lips, Fiamma soon becomes an object of curiosity, adulation and, in some corners, dangerous jealousy.
Comparisons to other inspirational teachers are hard to resist, but while the surrogate parents in Dead Poets Societyand The Prime of Miss Jean Brodiemostly improve their students' malleable minds, Miss G is a more volatile creation. It's suggested from the moment Fiamma arrives that things will not end well.
With canny use of locations in Kells and Wicklow, director Jordan Scott (daughter of Ridley) has built a world that’s both vast and claustrophobic: the wide fields and shimmering bodies of water make a mockery of the students’ collective isolation. The cast is well chosen, and Scott capitalises on the most striking aspects of the three leads: Green’s intimidating eyes, Valverde’s quiet confidence and, especially, Temple’s mean little face.
Cracksis well-acted and atmospheric, so it's a shame that the languid pacing prevents this period thriller from really hitting the bull's eye. Still, as a director's daughter's debut, it's far more likely to be compared to Sophia Coppola's The Virgin Suicidesthan Jennifer Lynch's long-forgotten Boxing Helena.
By the way, you’d be well advised to avoid viewing the trailer, which insists on giving far too much away.
