Dismissed
Genre: Psychological thriller
Personal rating: 6.5/10
Note: Some spoilers ahead, but harmless in the grand scheme of things
Platform: Netflix
When something seems to good to be true, it usually is.
Dylan Sprouse shines in his portrayal of Lucas Ward, a transfer student. No ordinary one either: Lucas is the Model Student, a polyglot who is attentive and engaging in class, and able to interpret complex texts seemingly effortlessly.
Kent Osborne also shows great range in his portrayal of Mr. Butler — an average English teacher with a mediocre academic record and goals to match. That description may seem harsh, but it is this depiction in the first half of the film that makes the film’s payoff land. This is also how he is viewed by Lucas, who comes to the school with a perfect academic record.
However, despite handing in more of a dissertation than an essay on Othello, Lucas doesn’t get an A, and he demands an explanation. The Othello reading scene is the first hint we get that Lucas may not be perfect — his interpretation of the text is literal (the film goes on to explain why Lucas is this way) and he is unable to see how Iago is actually a liar, despite Mr. Butler’s explanation. This escalating discussion completes Lucas’ transition from genius to psychopath, and the film truly gets going.
To someone with a perfect academic record, a B+ in high school can feel like losing to the final boss after hundreds of hours of play. However, life isn’t a video game. What do you do when you can’t just rage quit and get that perfect score on your record anyway? After ridiculing his teacher’s academic background doesn’t work (shock horror), Lucas’ solution is to make his teacher’s life increasingly miserable until he changes the grade to an A. The rest of the film shows the mind games between Lucas and Mr. Butler as the teacher works to thwart the student’s attempts to ruin his reputation and break up his family.
If that last sentence seems bizarre, that is because it is. That is the extent of the suspension of disbelief required to keep the plot going. Would a student really go to these extremes over a grade? How can a group of adults with money and power who agree that this behaviour is completely out of order be powerless to stop a schoolchild from causing harm? The film’s ending is also a knock-on effect of the inexplicable lenience from people who really should know better.
The premise and general execution are definite positives, however, and the linear storytelling makes this movie much easier to follow than several entries in this genre (such as ARQ and Primer) which leave you scratching your head. Even as this is set in a school, with a young cast, this is no film for kids.
While there are definitely better psychological thrillers out there, you can do worse than give this a go if you need one to pass the time. If you’re into educational settings, you might even like it.
