Cracks

Recently, the Scott children (of Ridley) have been delivering some promising, intriguing films unlike those of their father. Jake Scott gave us WELCOME TO THE RILEYS which, although flawed, was a wonderful parable starring the underrated Kristen Stewart. Jake's sister, Jordan Scott directed CRACKS, which, although of a vastly different subject, is very much alike to Jake's debut. Both films are quite flawed, but both have a lot of beauty in them: which mostly serves as a promising omen for their future careers. CRACKS tells of an uptight british boarding school in the 1930's where a group of young women, led by actresses Imogen Poots and Juno Temple, idolize the enigmatic Miss G. (Eva Green). Miss G is the head of the diving team, which comprises around six to eight girls, the "queen bee" of which is Temple's Di. Everything is going well at the school, except that it is obvious that these girls' perception of 'going well' has been twisted by Miss G and the older headmistresses. Miss G, who seems to care for the girls a great deal, just furthers the girls' ignorance of the world, by spouting ridiculous bullshit on the quality of the world. Like the obligatory inspirational teacher in a film, Miss G, although inspirational to the girls, inspires them with a false, childish reality. When a girl powdered as an aristocrat from France shows up, it shakes things up. The girl, Fiamma (Maria Valverde), is one that knows what the world is actually like. When Miss G tells of her extravagant travels to Africa, Fiamma frowns in realization that they are directly extracted from books. The truth behind Miss G's obsession with oppressing the girls to the point where they don't even know they're being oppressed is a clever realization. Maria Valverde, Poots, Temple, and especially Eva Green are perfectly directed to further the plot in the correct direction. Their acting jobs could be dubbed 'bad', but they are often purposefully ridiculous. There is a lot of talent at work here, but director Jordan Scott's cinematic gestures are a little large for such a small scale story. Also, the general pacing of the film is occasionally unnecessarily supportive of facts the audience should already know. Despite this, the film is a pleasing debut.
Cracks: ★★★