Bad Apples Review: Saoirse Ronan Shines in a Bold, Thought-Provoking Film

Selected for Official Competition at the 2025 BFI London Film Festival, this is a bold and thought-provoking film set in a typical British primary school. Saoirse Ronan plays Maria, a teacher who is doing her very best but feeling the weight of a system that is failing both her and the children in her care.

When one particular pupil, Danny (Eddie Waller), becomes increasingly disruptive and difficult to manage, Maria starts out with good intentions and firm boundaries. But as the situation worsens, she finds herself making decisions that go further and feel far more extreme than she ever thought possible.

What begins as a story about classroom discipline slowly twists into something much deeper and darker, making us question who really gets to decide what is right and wrong.

Maria (Saoirse Ronan) and Danny (Eddie Waller) in Bad Apples. [Pulse Films]

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This film looks closely at the labels we put on people and how easy it is to point a finger without ever truly understanding the full picture.

It is a movie that asks us to look at power and accountability and makes us wonder who the real bad apples actually are.

Saoirse Ronan gives us another powerhouse performance. She truly shines in every role she’s appeared in over the years, especially in this latest role, where she transforms into a teacher. She carries every heartbeat of Maria’s journey with a burning intensity that is terrifyingly real.

You will feel the emotional journey she goes through with the character she portrays in this hard-hitting film. Amazingly, Jonatan Etzler directs with confidence, crafting a world that feels familiar yet increasingly surreal, where every creak and glance hints at something darker beneath the surface.

That being said, the tone falters when it leans too hard into allegory. Some of the narrative leaps stretch credibility, and the balance between satire and thriller does not always land smoothly. It provokes in all the right places, refusing easy answers or tidy closure.

This movie will make you ask yourself uncomfortable questions and let them linger in your mind. It is another example of masterful, bold, daring filmmaking at its finest. Definitely a film to open your eyes widely and a must-watch, especially for the fabulous acting performances of the whole cast.

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