Cracks (2011)

43% of critics liked it
(47 reviews)
52% of users liked it
(7,052 ratings)

In an austere and remote all-girls boarding school, the most elite students are the illustrious members of the schools' diving team. Di (Juno Temple), Lily (Ellie Nunn), Poppy (Imogen Poots), Laurel (Adele Mccann), Rosie (Zoe Carroll) and Fuzzy (Clemmie Dugdale) are the envy of their fellow pupils… More In an austere and remote all-girls boarding school, the most elite students are the illustrious members of the schools' diving team. Di (Juno Temple), Lily (Ellie Nunn), Poppy (Imogen Poots), Laurel (Adele Mccann), Rosie (Zoe Carroll) and Fuzzy (Clemmie Dugdale) are the envy of their fellow pupils who watch on as the girls compete for the attention of their glamorous teacher MISS G (Eva Green). MISS G in turn thrives on the attention she receives from her girls and believes it is her role to teach them the ways of the world. As Team Captain, DI is closest of all the girls to Miss G but her position is challenged when a beautiful Spanish girl, Fiamma (Maria Valverde), arrives at the school and joins the diving team. DI, pulls rank as team captain and lays down the rules in an attempt to assert her position but MISS G is spellbound by Fiamma's beauty and maturity and becomes obsessed with her new favorite girl. Consumed with jealousy, Di encourages the group to bully their team mate and they chase her out of the school. When Fiamma is made to return the girls are forced to try and get along with Fiamma and as they open up to her they too begin to warm to the charms that so captivated Miss G. In an attempt to put their differences aside - the diving team and Fiamma plan a secret midnight party to celebrate the feast of St. Agnes; a ritualistic celebration that is both innocent and erotic. A night that begins with high spirits soon takes a turn that will change the girls' lives forever as Miss G interrupts the evening and takes a drunken Fiamma away to her room... -- (C) IFC

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 47 min.
Directed By: Jordan Scott
Genres: Mystery & Suspense, Drama

In Theaters: Mar 18, 2011 Limited
On DVD: Jul 19, 2011
Studio: IFC Films

Critic Reviews

Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer
While Scott's movie has a consistent aura, it lacks a consistent tone.
James Berardinelli, ReelViews
Driven more by characters and relationships than narrative, Cracks explores the exclusionary power of cliques that develop within a closed society, the single-minded violence of the mob mentality, and the seductive charm of the charismatic individual.
V.A. Musetto, New York Post
"Cracks" recalls any number of girls-school dramas, like the much better "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie" (1969).
Stephen Holden, New York Times
In many ways "Cracks" is lurid and rickety. But its gripping ensemble performances lend it an emotional intensity that outweighs its shortcomings.
John Anderson, Wall Street Journal
Worth seeing just to watch Ms. Green ride that teacher right off the rails.
Sam Adams, Los Angeles Times
The pieces never form a convincing, or coherent, whole.
Victoria Alexander, FilmsInReview.com
The story twists beautifully and shockingly. The ending is brilliant. Skillfully directed by Jordan Scott.
Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times
"Cracks" is a moody, often lurid tale of rivalry and repression.
Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald
Although Green is the sort of actress you can't take your eyes off , her presence is not enough to keep this movie from becoming mired in a slow and predictable rut.
Matthew Sorrento, Film Threat
Along with Fiamma's shift, we can't buy a miscast Eva Green, whose teacher begins the film faultless and finishes looking like The Turn of the Screw's governess.
Sarah Boslaugh, Playback:stl
,,,sometimes seems too obvious, sometimes too opaque, and frequently leaves you guessing as to whether some episode has a deeper meaning or was just tossed out there to keep things moving.
Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
"Cracks" is a bit of a knock-off, but it's a sturdily assembled vessel for a promising director and cast.
Molly Eichel, Philadelphia Daily News
Temple shines as Di. Her round face and large eyes convey almost as much as her dialogue.
Sean Gandert, Paste Magazine
Cracks only strays from the boarding school genre's playbook when it's entering questionable territory, making for a picture that's easily forgettable except in its disappointments.
Ignatiy Vishnevetsky, Ebert Presents At The Movies
Cracks is very tawdry and blunt, but it's also an effective parable about the way people -- especially impressionable young people -- can become complicit in their own oppression.
Doris Toumarkine, Film Journal International
Lame period film set in a remote girls' boarding school never takes off. All-too-familiar tensions among students and their troubled instructor go unresolved.
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid
It's at least unintentionally funny and could wind up with a kind of demented cult following.
Brian Orndorf, BrianOrndorf.com
A hobbled, but moderate chiller, which offers far too many intriguing toxins to discount, even when they're projected in a most transparent manner.
Chris Cabin, Filmcritic.com
Cracks has the potential to be utterly devastating. Unfortunately, the film settles for being mildly unsettling.
Noel Murray, AV Club
For much of Cracks' first two-thirds, Scott and company avoid the obvious melodramatic beats and just let the story unfold, even as the narrative shifts its attention from character to character.

Read all 20 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Cynthia S

A film about a psychotic, predatory lesbian, and a group of boarding school girls. Some tension filled scenes, intertwined with catfights, bullying, and tons of estrogen. All this could have been a great recipe for a memorable movie....but I found it just average. Eva Green, however,… More
A film about a psychotic, predatory lesbian, and a group of boarding school girls. Some tension filled scenes, intertwined with catfights, bullying, and tons of estrogen. All this could have been a great recipe for a memorable movie....but I found it just average. Eva Green, however, is quite great in this....
♥˩ƳИИ &

Cast: Eva Green, Juno Temple, María Valverde, Imogen Poots, Ellie Nunn, Adele McCann, Zoe Carroll, Clemmie Dugdale, Sinéad Cusack, Helen Norton Director: Jordan Scott Summary: Jordan Scott -- daughter of helmer Ridley Scott -- makes her directing debut with this thriller set… More
Cast: Eva Green, Juno Temple, María Valverde, Imogen Poots, Ellie Nunn, Adele McCann, Zoe Carroll, Clemmie Dugdale, Sinéad Cusack, Helen Norton Director: Jordan Scott Summary: Jordan Scott -- daughter of helmer Ridley Scott -- makes her directing debut with this thriller set at a British all-girls boarding school between World War I and II and starring Eva Green as a popular teacher and coach of the swim team. When a new girl arrives at the cliquish and hormonally charged institution, jealousies erupt, obsessions arise and, eventually, a student disappears. My Thoughts: "Jordon Scott really did a fabulous and beautiful job with her first film. The under water scenes where gorgeous. The acting is so good. Especially by Eva Green. Miss G. is a beautiful, exotic, and a free spirit in her girl's eyes. She cheers on her girls and teaches them that the most important thing in life is desire and that you can have anything in the world all you need to do is desire it. Not until Fiamma shows up do we see the other side of Miss G. The much darker, disturbed, unbalanced, troubled side. Fiamma brings out the worse in Miss G. Miss G. desires Fiamma's attention and love. Fiamma is quick to notice there is something wrong with Miss G. and tries her best to stay free of her, but there's no escaping Miss G. or her loyal jealous followers. Great film! Intense with great performances from all the young ladies. Must see for certain."
Nicki M

Very slow to start, but definitely worth sticking with. I was really enthralled by this once it become apparent that the beautiful Miss G (Eva Green) was a little mentally unbalanced. I actually had sympathy for her character right up until the very last bit. After that point it… More
Very slow to start, but definitely worth sticking with. I was really enthralled by this once it become apparent that the beautiful Miss G (Eva Green) was a little mentally unbalanced. I actually had sympathy for her character right up until the very last bit. After that point it became a little hard to excuse her. This is beautifully filmed and it's interesting that someone has compared this to Heavenly Creatures, because that's exactly what it reminded me of, though obviously different, not a rip off in any way. The actresses who play the school girls are a little unremarkable, but it further marks the glamour of Mss G and, to a lesser extent, Fiamma (Maria Valverde), the student who eventually pushes Miss G's fragile sanity over the edge. I think it was a smart move to make the other girls quite ordinary and unmemorable. Compelling and interesting movie. Not sure if it would be one all would enjoy, but certainly worth a look.
Lorenzo v

"Innocence isn't lost. It's taken." A look at the lives and relationships among girls at an elite British boarding school. <center>"Innocence isn't lost. It's taken." A look at the lives and relationships among girls at an elite British boarding school. <center>REVIEW</center> Mesmerising. Predictable perhaps, but only because it stays true to so many classic roots (Think Picnic at Hanging Rock meets Lord of the Flies meets Death in Venice... the list goes on) Yet it's never clichéd. Definitely an instant classic on so many levels, and that's before one realises it was directed by the progeny of one of the world's greatest filmmakers - should that be prodigy? Given the history, I feel it's almost a pity there wasn't a part for Harvey Keitel, as he seems to star in the debut masterpiece of more than a few great modern directors, including Ridley Scott, Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino, etc... Personally I would have given him a small cameo as one of the townspeople just for fun! Bravo the Scott Clan (no wonder it felt a bit like watching The Hunger for the first time.) - Encore!
William S

I did so want to like this - the tantalising premise intrigued me at the very least. But, as hard as I tried, I couldn't engage with the characters who ranged from stiff and aloof to petulant and annoying. And with a story that was just a little too chilly and inscrutable for… More
I did so want to like this - the tantalising premise intrigued me at the very least. But, as hard as I tried, I couldn't engage with the characters who ranged from stiff and aloof to petulant and annoying. And with a story that was just a little too chilly and inscrutable for its own good I really couldn't summon up much of a response beyond a rather tepid anxiety. A flic that promises much and looks rather beautiful but ultimately it's a bit of a cock-tease (in every sense) and is only really as appetising as licking coloured ice.
Christopher H

Cracks is a dark, yet poetic look into the lives of a small group of sheltered school girls. Eva Green plays their teacher, sharing exotic stories and seducing the girls with her charm and "life experience". But when the new French student, Fiamma is introduced, favoritism… More
Cracks is a dark, yet poetic look into the lives of a small group of sheltered school girls. Eva Green plays their teacher, sharing exotic stories and seducing the girls with her charm and "life experience". But when the new French student, Fiamma is introduced, favoritism drives them all apart, eventually leading to some very unexpected twists, the likes that a period drama has never seen. Sexy, yet innocent, this film surprises in the best of ways.
Deb S

Based on the novel by Sheila Kohler of the same name and directed by Jordan Scott (daughter of Ridley), Cracks is set in 1934 at a prestigious English boarding school where physical violence among the students is the most popular part of the curriculum, next to lesbian lust.… More
Based on the novel by Sheila Kohler of the same name and directed by Jordan Scott (daughter of Ridley), Cracks is set in 1934 at a prestigious English boarding school where physical violence among the students is the most popular part of the curriculum, next to lesbian lust. Schoolyard bullying is nothing new and mean girls will be mean girls. The all-girls boarding school is oppressive and strict which is probably why most of the students look up to the glamorous diving instructor Miss G (Eva Green), because she is the opposite. Miss G is a passionate and rule-breaking teacher that is adored by all the students for her lack of traditionalism. She instills in her girls one talisman to live by -"The most important thing in life is desire, nothing is impossible, all you need is to desire it" - and does her best to follow her own advice. She chain smokes, drinks too much, and disobeys the school rules encouraging free thinking, moonlight skinny dipping and the kind of ambiguous sexuality that turns her impressionable pupils positively giddy with hormonal confusion. As played by super-cool Eva Green, who raised temperatures as the only femme fatale James Bond ever truly loved, in Casino Royale, Miss G symbolizes sophistication, independence and erotic freedom. Miss G basks in their attention, but when she starts playing favorites, flames of jealousy begin to flicker. Teacher's pet and team captain Di Radfield (Juno Temple) feels threatened by every girl who gets too close to her role model. Arrogant and haughty, she has always been the group leader and ranking alpha female, but all of their rigid, implacable little lives and routines are turned upside down by the arrival of a new student, Fiamma (María Valverde), a beautiful asthmatic Spanish aristocrat with superior diving skills along with a calm worldliness that none of her teammates possess. Miss G is transfixed by the new girl's poise and beauty and becomes obsessed with being Fiamma's friend (and perhaps even more). Fiamma's fate as an outcast is sealed when Di, consumed with jealousy and frustration over Miss G's growing obsession with this foreign intruder enlists the other team members in a campaign to drive her out of the school. The film takes a while to get going but it kicks into high gear for a suspenseful and powerful finale as this silent brooding siren drives Miss G. insane (literally, not just metaphorically) from her stifled lesbian passions. . The cinematography is outstanding. The shots of the lake, are crisp and beautiful. Even at night, the lake is wonderfully lit and everything is visible so it is hard to believe that Cracks is Jordan Scott's debut feature as a director. <a href="http://tinypic.com?ref=10omwwm" target="_blank"><img src="http://i55.tinypic.com/10omwwm.jpg" border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic"></a> <a href="http://tinypic.com?ref=2r292xi" target="_blank"><img src="http://i55.tinypic.com/2r292xi.jpg" border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic"></a> <a href="http://tinypic.com?ref=2hp3sht" target="_blank"><img src="http://i51.tinypic.com/2hp3sht.jpg" border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic"></a> <a href="http://tinypic.com?ref=19vz9i" target="_blank"><img src="http://i51.tinypic.com/19vz9i.jpg" border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic"></a> <a href="http://tinypic.com?ref=ip8tjp" target="_blank"><img src="http://i54.tinypic.com/ip8tjp.jpg" border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic"></a> <a href="http://tinypic.com?ref=icn6gp" target="_blank"><img src="http://i55.tinypic.com/icn6gp.jpg" border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic"></a>
Daniel P

Starts promisingly and does have its moments but the complete lack of subtlety (LOOK, ONE OF THE GIRLS HAS ASTHMA - THIS WILL BE IMPORTANT) and some woeful child acting (all affected mannerisms and awful accents) do let things down. Comparisons to thematically similar films like… More
Starts promisingly and does have its moments but the complete lack of subtlety (LOOK, ONE OF THE GIRLS HAS ASTHMA - THIS WILL BE IMPORTANT) and some woeful child acting (all affected mannerisms and awful accents) do let things down. Comparisons to thematically similar films like Picnic at Hanging Rock and Heavenly Creatures are less than favourable, and the ending feels a long time coming. Eva Green is pretty good though, I really like the repeated diving metaphor and the film isn't by any means awful; I enjoyed it whilst I was watching it. In other words it's entertaining but not really worth seeking out.
Doctor S

"You shouldn't be so bloody spare all the time! You're making her miserable, you know, and you're ruining the team! IF we're to be stuck with YOU, then you'd better learn that the happiness of the team FAR outweighs that of your own!"… More
"You shouldn't be so bloody spare all the time! You're making her miserable, you know, and you're ruining the team! IF we're to be stuck with YOU, then you'd better learn that the happiness of the team FAR outweighs that of your own!" "I don't want to be part of your team. I'm not even meant to be here." "But you're here now, so you'd better make the best of it, and stop being so bloody selfish!" "I'm not selfish. I just want to go home." "Don't you think we ALL want to go home?!?" The apple cart of order is upset by the arrival of a Spanish girl of royal blood at a remote boarding school on Stanley Island off the coast of England in 1934. An intriguingly complicated and continuously shifting triangle of acrimony and affection arises between scandalously free-thinking instructor Miss G (Eva Green), her jealously loyal protege Di (Juno Temple), and the exotic world-wise Fiamma (Maria Valverde.) All three are terrific, particularly Temple whose pride is easily hurt and then repaired, and whose beliefs are challenged in the wake of Fiamma deducing the truth that hides behind the glamorous stories Miss G spins of her adventures. And who else but Eva Green could pull off the twisted seduction scene? The rest of the young cast are also top-notch - why coudn't the original Harry Potter casting director find kids this adept? The malfeasantly monikered Imogen Poots reminded me of a giggly Kate Winslet from Heavenly Creatures or Sense & Sensibility. A lush score led by violin and piano (reminds me weirdly enough of the sad inflections present in the soundtrack for the videogame Max Payne 2!) and beautiful cinematography perfectly evoke the time and place. And diving - there's lots of diving, but I was more captivated than if watching an Olympic medalist. A worthwhile peek at a darker side of a way of life from a bygone era.
Marcus W

Eva Green and Juno Temple are the standouts in this film, but the whole thing is let down by too much whimsy and a lack of "bite". Kind of a dark Mona Lisa Smile...
Anastasia B

I know this film has not worked for a lot of people, but it has worked on me, even though someone might dismiss it as a big pyjama girl party. It's a wonderful opportunity for Eva Green to play yet another slightly demented and sexually deviant character (like in… More
I know this film has not worked for a lot of people, but it has worked on me, even though someone might dismiss it as a big pyjama girl party. It's a wonderful opportunity for Eva Green to play yet another slightly demented and sexually deviant character (like in Bertolucci's The Dreamers) and as a directorial debut from Jordan (of the Scott family) it's just magnificent. Beautiful and shocking, it builds up slowly but it compensates for it in the end. Shot in Ireland, which is a plus for me, personally as I completely love those landscapes. Jordan Scott may not be Sofia Coppola, but she's getting there.
Movee C

Intriguingly mysterious plot by director Jordan Scott. A naive alliance with underlying cracks of desire (infatuation). "Secret society" meets "Madeline" set in the 1930s.
ernest e

What started as a little out of tune story became more ridiculous later on. beautiful countryside and good camerawork. I did not feel the girls in this movie were in tune/touch with the subject of sexuality that the movie was about. I fell asleep at one point during the movie and… More
What started as a little out of tune story became more ridiculous later on. beautiful countryside and good camerawork. I did not feel the girls in this movie were in tune/touch with the subject of sexuality that the movie was about. I fell asleep at one point during the movie and left 20 minutes early when it became too ridiculous at the end more because I wanted supper than the movie itself. Not a bad movie but the story does not connect with the people in and around it. Too many repeating items with little movement throughout. It misses a real drive and excitement that maybe could have saved it.