The Lesson (2015)

One of my all time favorites.

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

Blistering performances.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

I stumbled upon this film by chance and thought i'd watch it out of interest - so had no expectations generated by reviews etc.It was disappointing from the moment it started. Technically, it was mediocre to say the least. I felt as though no thought had gone into setting up the scenes, the lighting, or the relevance of shots to what was taking place. Someone could have done the same thing with a cheap camera phone - and this was much the same throughout this film. It was as though it had been made to some formula rather than any artistry.The story could have been a good tale to tell, but was let down by either the script or editing which produced a disjointed feeling between shots, with both over-emphasis and lack of emphasis in certain shots that could have made the film bearable.In the end I was glad it had finished.

With the gratuitous violence, it is difficult to understand what is the message of "The Lesson." The film began as a realistic domestic drama about family dysfunction and juvenile delinquency. It then lapsed into the horror genre with grotesque and virtually nauseating violence.Each of the male characters in this film was unsympathetic. Only the women's roles tended to refute the thesis of William Golding's novel "Lord of the Flies," which seems at the heart of the filmmaker's concept. In that novel, the bestial nature of a group of young British schoolboys emerges when they must co-exist on a deserted island.In "The Lesson," a formerly idealistic English teacher takes revenge on his recalcitrant and foul-mouthed students through the long scene that comprises his lesson on Enlightenment thinkers like Rousseau, Milton's epic "Paradise Lost," the Romantic critics, and Charlotte Brönte's "Jane Eyre."The most interesting character in the film was not the teacher, but Mia, who becomes the heroine when she shows compassion for her young step brother who did not return home. But the odd final scene compromises her strong character with a surprising plot twist.It was obvious that the screenwriter had a good handle on modern literature. The most clever moment occurs when Mia determines to keep in her possession one of the demented teacher's books, the 1966 novel "Wild Saragossa Sea" by Dominican author Jean Rhys. This is a postmodernist sequel to Brönte's "Jane Eyre" built around the secondary character of the Bertha Mason, the "madwoman in the attic" of the home of Rochester. Of course, the name Berta Mason was the correct answer given to the mad instructor's question, and her response was what saved Mia's life while she was a hostage.It is tempting to borrow one of the terms of the English teacher and suggest that "The Lesson" is filled with irony. But that would be far too great praise for this muddled and overly violent film.

This movie knows what it wants to be! The camera is excellent, glamorous wide-shots juxtaposed with gray small-town rut, and personal small hand-cam shots. Muted colors of violence, boredom and frustration versus literal enlightenment through physical torture. The cast is really solid, the movie educates us with it's own story. The music keeps and/or juxtaposes the scenes perfectly. The writer/director Ruth Plath is clearly someone to look out for in the future. The expertly composed pictures, the story of the story of modern society and it's relation to literature, the wonderful maelstrom of violence... Reminds me a bit of Nicolas Winding Refn's work. On a more metaphysical level then a really comparable one. I could go on and on and on.9/10 because like 3 scenes didn't work that well in my opinion. But that's just nitpicking.WATCH THIS MOVIE! It's really good.

Tindal.. Your a F'ING Genius. OK like I usually state I put in reviews for movies that are not being represented properly or are overrated. Today I am focusing on "The Lesson" starring Robert Hands,Evan Bendall & Michaela Prchalov'a. Now is this movie overrated or underrated, well if your going by the IMDb rankings it would be neither.Let me explain. The user reviews are right on the money for anyone who gave a 8 or higher rating. But The rating ranking is 4.5 out of 10 which is such a terrible display of a ranking for an amazing movie it kinda upsets me that the critics could rate this movie so low. or maybe that's just a collective ranking from users and critics whatever the case may be "The Lesson" is a captivating intelligent gruesome and invigorating film displaying a teachers passion to teach at all costs and a students ability to learn on any level if pushed to the limit. The acting by Robert Hands was definitely some of the best work I have ever seen. Maybe this role was so close to his actual real life personality for him to pull it off so well but regardless of that he displayed award winning talent and he should definitely be considered in the league of A- list actors.The camera angles,The writing,the directing was also superb and the other actors were all sufficient but I felt there roles could of easily been replaceable by someone else which was not the case for Robert Hands who stole the show. The only reason I did not give it a 10 was because of added scenes towards the end which I feel were sort of useful for filling out the story and giving you the whole spectrum of the finalized result but it kinda thru off the speed or pace of the movie and I feel it would of been a more effective ending if it was 75% shorter. All in All though a great movie that is relevant in our society today and isn't that what it's really about. We watch and we learn so many things in our life time good and bad but if something isn't useful then what's the point in creating it.. Stay Safe Stay Blessed.. T.Kaine