Rent F (2010)

A few spoilers follow ... - F review by NP

David Schofield is brilliant at broken, sozzled teacher Mr Anderson, or Robert to his co-workers (I hesitate to say friends). He has a precocious daughter called Kate (Eliza Bennett) and bows to the reprimands of the headmistress Sarah Balhan (Ruth Gemmell). These three main characters are nicely written and convincingly played.

Anderson is flawed and shunned for it. A pupil accuses him of marking him down for an exam (the 'F' of the title) and knocks him to the floor; the student's parents then go about suing him for his alleged victimisation. When the beleaguered teacher warns of something being 'wrong' at the school, he is laughed at. When his words turn out to be true, the laughter abruptly stops.

'F' is excellent. Apart from being a frightening story (that is mainly so effective because it is set very much in the real world), it has comments to make about the system in general. Writer and director Johannes Roberts has turned in a well-rounded tale that appeals on several levels. More than just a slasher movie, the open-ended nature of some story elements indicates that such a situation is never a million miles away from happening again. I mean, why not?

My score is 9 out of 10. Or A+, if you prefer.

Excellent Horror Film Set in a UK School which makes valid points re student disruption - F review by PV

I loved this film - esp the first half. The excellent David Schofield plays a disaffected teacher betrayed by the school management after a violent incident - the title F is a grade he gives a student (no spoilers).

He is told by the ambitious female managerialist head played by Ruth Gemmell that it is against school policy to award a FAIL grade - the lowest a student can get is an M for moderation or RM for re-marking or RS for resubmit. This is based on FACT. And the portrayal of that ambitious female manager is horribly accurate portrayal - I have worked with such women in colleges. Never again. The are manager monsters.

Many schools these days - and universities - never fail any student. There is a 98.4% pass rate in A levels and 70%+ uni students get a 1st or 2.1. The word failure if banned at many degree factories too and schools - they say 'deferred success' instead.

So that portrayal is accurate enough. The film then morphs into a slash horror movie in many ways, though the sinister hoods look great. Some scenes reminiscent of Jurassic Park, to be honest - the hoodies are the Velociraptors.

An interesting and fun British film which makes a serious point about disruption and violence in our schools.

4 stars. only because it lagged a tad in the latter half and so much is unexplained or left hanging. The acting is 5 star all round.