by Scott Batchelor, Contributing Writer
A movie about a school that teaches witches and wizards has been done before… I think. Nothing comes to mind right away, but it feels like I have seen this somewhere. Could be mixing up school with a camp. Or a commune. Could be a circus. But realistically all the above. A hero’s journey is a classic for a reason. And as of the early 2000s, the school for powerful students has been included in most young adult stories. The School for Good and Evil knows you are expecting much of the same, and does what it can to set itself apart. There are obvious comparisons to be made, but overall, I think that The School for Good and Evil does enough to warrant a review based on its own merits.
We are introduced to our two leads in parallel fashion to show how different these unlikely best friends are. One is tired of her family; the other has a sweet mother she feels the need to take care of. We get a quick, meaningless, backstory to how Sophie (Sophia Anna Caruso) and Agatha (Sofia Whylie) became best friends when they were small children. But the very next scenes, we see them stand up for each other against bullies and witch-hunting townsfolk. We could have easily skipped the backstory and gotten to this point faster. The audience is smart enough to put together that the girls have been together for years, based on their actions. Scenes like this are largely unneeded as this movie is a whopping two-and-a-half hours.
Now that their never-ending friendship has been established, we can move forward with the plot. Sophie learns about a magical school for good and evil and makes a wish to be whisked away from her tired life. Agatha feels differently and tries to stop Sophie from leaving, leading them both to be swooped up by a magical skeleton bird called a stymph and dropped into separate schools: Sophie in the School for Evil and Agatha in the School for Good. Neither wants to be there. This begins the first big conflict between the best friends, which is built beautifully throughout the movie.
This film is a wonderful allegory for growing up with your best friend. Sophie will do anything to transfer schools, and Agatha wants to get them both out. They constantly argue about what they need to do to achieve their own goals, while also being there for each other until it all comes to a head. But that doesn’t happen for some time and their friendship is refreshing. At one point in the movie they argue over a boy, but it’s not really about the boy at all — it is about stifling each other. This is where the run time achieves its goal. They are able to draw out the inevitable breakup so it doesn’t feel rushed.
They soon get whisked to their respective sides where all of the terminology is dropped on us: Nevers, Evers, and Readers. The usual world building you can come to expect. Rules are introduced so students can’t just leave, and you see the consequences for when student’s fail, which are more than just writing lines in a classroom. The world is well built and thought out. I know the stakes and I understand what is allowed in this world.
As with all magic schools, we get our slice-of-life scenes as our girls go through the different classes. Agatha receives her first F in “smiling,” while Sophie learns that being ugly is freeing because it’s one thing you don’t have to worry about, which is actually a pretty good message. During these classes, we see the care that director Paul Feig has taken by making everything visually appealing.
For the most part, the CGI is great. Like truly something you wouldn’t expect out of Netflix. It doesn’t look rushed, and the only reason it feels jarring is because it is mythical. Like, wolves for soldiers is hard to do practically, but it still looks good being computer generated. There are some practical effects that are especially noticeable for the right reasons. Not everything is CG all the time. We are in the age where Hollywood will put everything into a computer and take the craft out of magic. Seeing the talons of the stymph or the fur of a wolf soldier from behind makes me more invested because the movie has invested in themselves.
That being said, there are certainly times in this movie that the CG is so distracting I had to rewind to follow the story. In particular, there is a beat in the end where a character goes through a metamorphosis that had me worried we would spend the next hour with the character being nearly completely computer generated. It was so sloppy and confusing. If the movie has already decided they are doing some practical effects, why not use makeup?
I think the simple answer to that question is the runtime. As I have stated, this is a long movie. They very well could have gotten between five and seven episodes out of this, instead of a movie and created a compelling series. It does feel like the tale of two movies. The first half is the fish-out-of-water story (that we get twice), and the second half is when the schools collide. Both work as good stories and are compelling enough on their own, but combining them bloats the viewing experience for a movie that hasn’t actually earned that much of my attention. Maybe it would work for the final installment in a franchise, but not right out of the gate.
Despite the marathon length, the performances keep the pace going. Only towards the end did I start to feel it. There are some funny moments in this movie that are worth a chuckle. Nothing to elicit a guffaw from anyone, but it’s safe to say this is funny. The chemistry between the leads is clear from the opening scene. They are able to hold their own against a number of award-nominated actors like Charlize Theron, Kerry Washington, and Michelle Yeoh. I am excited with what they will bring to the table in future films.
The final battle does of course pit good versus evil, but as with everything else in this movie, it comes in a small twist on what you are used to. It creates an environment where you don’t know who is going to win. But you also don’t really care. You don’t care because neither school has anyone worth caring about as it winds down. As great as the performances are, there is no real character development for most of the characters. Only towards the end did we start to see more fleshed-out characters, rather than your cookie cutter archetypes. It is a bit too late, but still makes me excited for a potential sequel.
If The School for Good and Evil came out a decade ago, it very well may have been lumped together with films of similar nature. Audiences would write it off as a quick cash grab in a popular genre. But this is much more than that. Paul Feig has crafted a movie that is made for the art and respect of the source material. The funny dialogue and unique story make this movie well worth a watch. The franchise looks to be in good hands, and you should be excited.
Score: 8/10
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