"Crack" is based on the novel of the same name by the female writer Sheila Kohler. The background of the film is a middle school girls boarding school in England in the 1930s. The story revolves around the female teacher Miss G and the diving team she leads. Miss G is a beautiful woman with an unrestrained personality. She always has a cigarette in her hand. She wakes up the girls to swim by the lake from time to time at night. She often tells the girls about her adventures in India and other magical countries by herself. Miss G is the object of admiration for the girls in the school, and the diving team she leads has also become a popular figure in the school.
Beneath the glossy surface, hidden ugliness. Miss G used to be a student of this girls' school. She had a bad habit of stealing and peeping, and she would keep everything she liked for herself. Miss G has never left the school in her life, and she has to practice repeatedly to buy bread in town before she has the courage to face strangers outside the school. The adventure stories that Miss G tells the girls are all quotes from novels, and she is a fake character created by herself. But the girls don't know that the adult world is very fake-Miss G is their inner yearning and the pillar of their spirit.
Fiana, a transfer student, broke Miss G's dream world. Fiana is the daughter of a Spanish aristocrat. She has an outstanding appearance, a precocious personality, and is well-informed. Miss G's appearance and behavior are not worth it in Fiana's eyes. After all, compared to Fiana's contacts Noble women, Miss G's everything is ordinary, not to mention Miss G's theft and series of lies, which were seen by Fianna very early. However, Miss G was very fond of Fianna. Miss G peeked at Fianna's family letter and knew that Fianna was exiled to this school by her father because of puppy love. Miss G felt that Fianna was the same type of person as herself, someone who could hold hands with her.
Miss G's excessive attention to Fianna soon aroused the jealousy of the diving team girls, especially the diving team captain Dee, and all kinds of cynicism and ostracism appeared one after another. But Fianna didn't care, she just wanted to leave this school early and return to her own life. Therefore, when the diving team secretly kicked Fianna out of the school, Fianna did not resist, but strode away from the school gate. It's a pity that Fianna was finally sent back to school in embarrassment. Fianna finally realizes the fact that her father won't let her go home, so she puts down her body and tries to be friends with other girls, and secretly holds a party together. Fianna was very drunk at the reception, and Miss G just came to the dormitory to check. In order not to be discovered by the school that the girls were drinking, Miss G took Fianna back to her room and molested Fianna. All this was seen by Dee, the diving team leader, who was standing at the door.
The next morning, Fianna threatened to sue Miss G for her behavior, while Dee, out of jealousy, told the other team members that Fianna seduced Miss G. As a result, things got out of hand. In order to protect Miss G, Di led the diving team to chase and beat Fianna, causing Fianna to suffer from asthma. When everyone rushed to seek help from the teacher, Miss G came to Fianna. Miss G held Fianna's hand so that she could not reach the asthma inhaler beside her, so Fianna died in Miss G's arms. inside. Dee was the first to come back. She witnessed Miss G's killing of Fianna, and she stared at Miss G's eyes in shock for a long time.
After crying for a long time, Di worked up the courage to tell the truth to the other girls. That night, these girls knocked on Miss G's door, took off the red belt that symbolized team friendship, and threw them at Miss G's feet. Di also went to the principal to tell the truth, but the principal warned her not to spread rumors. The principal knew the nature and character of Miss G very well, but in order to protect the reputation of the school, she shielded Miss G for many years, which eventually led to the tragedy, but even at this moment, the principal still considered the reputation of the school. In the end, Miss G was kicked out of the school, and Dee left a letter and went on a trip alone. Her first stop was Fianna's hometown.
Because the theme of "Crack" is the evil and crime of underage children, it has been compared with Austrian director Haneke's "White Ribbon". However, there is a big gap between the two films in terms of layout and technique. In contrast, "Crack" appears to be vague in theme and simple in technique. In all fairness, the narrative pace of "Crack" is smooth, but the conflict and criticism are not very obvious. Three main characters: Miss G, Fianna and Dee, one is an adult who plays with people's hearts, the other is an innocent but arrogant girl, and the other is a half-adult who is tossing between good and evil. In human nature, it is not only evil that can inspire evil, but goodness that is high above is enough to inspire evil, but the director did not focus on portraying her excessive swing between good and evil when dealing with Di, a crucial role. Standing aside, looking at the relationship between Miss G and Fianna with a malicious look, and shaping her into a character driven by jealousy and childish behavior, all of Di's actions are also reduced to the intrigue between ordinary girls. and revenge. As a result, Fianna's final death turned out to be an evil committed by Miss G alone. For Di and the other girls, it was just an accident caused by overplaying.
When it comes to movies in which underage girls commit homicides because of their ignorance, I am most impressed by the New Zealand film "Fantasy Paradise" directed by Peter Jackson at the age of 33 in 1994. Kate Winslet was only ten years old when she starred in the film. seven years old. In "Fantasy Paradise", two high school girls who love to dream, from knowing each other to falling in love, and finally because the parents of both sides forced them to separate, the two actually embarked on the road of mother-killing. In the film, Peter Jackson used a dreamy approach to describe the two girls' characters who love fantasy and are detached from reality. Therefore, when the final tragedy happened, people strongly felt the horror and sadness in it, and the conflict before and after was revealed. Exhausted. Of course, "Dream Paradise" is based on real events, which naturally adds to the impact of this film. Compared with this, "Crack" relies too much on the acting skills and charm of Eva Green who plays Miss G, but weakens the theme of minors that the film wants to highlight.
Adapting a novel into a film is never an easy task, and directors must choose between staying true to the original and personal opinion. If the original work adapted is a literary novel, the difficulty is even greater, because most literary novels emphasize inner struggles and conflicts, and the performance of this part is extremely dependent on the acting skills of the actors, not entirely under the director's control. within the range. Accurately interpreting the original work without losing a personal perspective, letting the actors play without letting the actors' personal characteristics affect the rhythm and balance of the film, requires the director to have a clear idea before the film starts, as well as a very good experience and experience. Skill. When filming "Rationality and Sensibility", director Ang Lee was troubled by the actor's strong personal characteristics and subjective opinions. After all, the actor himself has his own interpretation of well-known novels. This is why many classic movies are directed and written by the same person. Among the movies adapted from famous novels, my personal favorites are "Gone with the Wind", "Silence of the Lambs", and "The Reader". The directors are all faithful to the originals to the greatest extent possible, while allowing the actors to give full play to their acting skills.
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