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Evil

Generally favorable reviews
Based on 15 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 9 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >
Movie Info
Genre(s): Drama | Foreign
Written by:
Hans Gunnarsson
Mikael Håfström
Jan Guillou (novel)
Directed by: Mikael Håfström
Release Date:
Theatrical: March 10, 2006
DVD: June 27, 2006
Running Time: 113 minutes, Color
Origin: Sweden
Language(s): Swedish / Finnish (with English subtitles)
Summary
RATING: Not Rated
Starring Andreas Wilson, Henrik Lundström, Gustaf Skarsgård, Linda Zilliacus, Jesper Salén, Filip Berg, Fredrik af Trampe, and Richard Danielsson
A coming-of –age drama, Evil is a story of cruelty and the way through it -- but also about genuine friendship and the beginnings of love. (Magnolia Pictures)
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Chicago Reader Albert Williams
This suspenseful, beautifully acted Dickensian drama forces us to confront our own bloodlust: do we root for the teen to win a moral victory or to beat the bad guy to a pulp?
Read Full Review >San Francisco Chronicle John McMurtrie
A gripping story of one teen's rebellion against his peers' sadistic abuse.
Read Full Review >New York Post V.A. Musetto
Director Mikael Hafstrom - the gentleman responsible for last year's Jennifer Aniston bomb "Derailed" - keeps us guessing as he confidently builds suspense.
Read Full Review >Variety David Stratton
Evil is not, as the title would suggest, a horror film, at least not a conventional one. Based on the autobiographical novel by Jan Guillou and set in the mid-1950s, the film relates the experiences of a troubled young man who's enrolled into a hidebound private school.
Read Full Review >The Hollywood Reporter Frank Scheck
Although Evil eventually suffers from its heavy-handed treatment of its subject, it is a well-made and engrossing melodrama.
Read Full Review >LA Weekly Tim Grierson
Håfström doesn't soft-pedal the abuse meted out by either his antihero or his nemeses, which will disturb audience members who want a clean demarcation between good guys and bad.
Read Full Review >Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern
A thoroughly serious film, full of vivid details, but also a relentlessly serious one that requires Mr. Wilson to spend a great deal of time looking disconsolate.
The Onion (A.V. Club) Scott Tobias
It's more about giving rich bullies the same comeuppance afforded to sneering wardens with bullwhips, and on those superficial grounds, it's reasonably gripping.
Read Full Review >Boston Globe Ty Burr
Extremely watchable, even if it never goes as deep as it should.
Read Full Review >Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips
Bullying is not easy to watch on screen, even--or perhaps especially--if the viewer had the fortune to avoid either side of the bully/bullied equation.
Read Full Review >TV Guide Maitland McDonagh
This didactic drama is set safely in the past and says nothing about the culture of conformity at all costs that hasn't been said before.
Read Full Review >The New York Times Stephen Holden
The movie is as blunt as its title. It portrays such behavior as "evil" without offering any deep insights or revelations, beyond handing out the plot equivalent of a lollipop at the end of the movie as compensation for the vicarious anguish.
Read Full Review >Village Voice Ben Kenigsberg
Is this an allegory against blind deference to fascism? It might be, but the root-for-the-Aryan-jock dramatics seem mildly fascist themselves.
Read Full Review >New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman
Hafstrom never finds the shades in his morality tale, so while Wilson is an intensely charismatic actor, all he can do is respond to relentless, escalating tortures. It's immensely unpleasant for him, and, frankly, not a whole lot better for us.
Read Full Review >Los Angeles Times Robert Abele
Director Mikael Hafström's dramatic sense is so pedestrian and snail's-pace obvious -- since this 2003 feature, he's made the leap to Hollywood with the plodding thriller "Derailed" -- one starts biding time for the inevitable retributive smackdown that will save our hero from the gantlet of draggy high-mindedness about counteracting fascism with stony resolve.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 8.1 (out of 10) based on 9 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
J H gave it a10:
I absolutely loved this movie. The director is marvelous, as are the cast and screenplay. Little wonder it was nominated for an Academy Award in 2004 for best Best Foreign Language Film. Rent it soon.
Jim G. gave it a6:
When a human stands up for basic rights and decency in a fascistic society, it is seen as rebellion. This is the story of one such "rebel." Well-acted story that does a good job of falling into the standard formula.
Mike F. gave it an8:
Excellent look into a gruelling and harassed existence at a corrupt bording school.
