Picturehouse Blog

From eye-catching early turns in Atonement and Hanna to classic collaborations with Greta Gerwig on Lady Bird and Little Women to demanding recent roles in Blitz and The Outrun, Ronan's range and exquisite taste in projects make every new film appointment-viewing. Her latest, Bad Apples, is a characteristically courageous choice, a dark, satirical comedy-thriller that offers twists at every turn while leaving you with plenty to think about when the end credits roll. 

Ronan is Maria, an increasingly frustrated headteacher in a West Country primary school. The source of her exasperation is Danny (Eddie Waller), a shaggy-haired, dishevelled bully who antagonises her and her pupils. After a frightening incident where Danny pushes geeky student Pauline (Nia Brown) over the edge of a staircase, Maria comes under the scrutiny of the school's administration, being warned about her inability to control the wayward student. 

Events come to a head when, one night away from school, Maria finds Danny vandalising her car. During the resulting scuffle, Maria temporarily knocks her student unconscious. As she drives him to hospital, Danny wakes up and threatens to tell the police. Realising she would lose her job, Maria changes course and drives him back to her house, chaining him up in her basement with a harness she ordered off the internet by Googling "how to live with an 800 lb gorilla". 

To say what happens next is to spoil the thrill of Bad Apples. Suffice it to say, screenwriter Jess O'Kane mines the nifty premise for all its worth and is not afraid to revel in the moral ambiguity of the set-up. Making his English-language debut, Swedish filmmaker Jonatan Etzler deftly walks a tightrope between black humour and taut tension.

Bad Apples also has things to say about the impossible challenges teachers face - not only unruly kids, but also over-demanding parents and unrelenting bureaucracy - as well as balancing the needs of the individual and what's best for the whole community. 

Etzler clearly has a facility with young actors, pulling great performances from his young cast. Eddie Waller is extraordinary as Danny, playing one of the most demonic kids since The Omen's Damien.

Less surprising is the ever-excellent Ronan, displaying subtle comic chops but with enough empathy to make you root for Maria and her harebrained scheme. The two etch a complex, constantly shifting relationship, and just when you feel like you've figured the movie out, the rug is pulled again. As The Hollywood Reporter says: "Top of its class".  

Ian Freer

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Bad Apples is in cinemas from 11 September — Book Now!