Teacher's Pet - Bad Apples at TIFF 2025

Saoirse Ronan in Bad Apples (Photo Courtesy of TIFF and Jonatan Etzler)

Directed by: Jonatan Etzler

Cast:  Saoirse Ronan, Jacob Anderson, Eddie Waller, Nia Brown

Are the kids alright? Probably not, and with the global teacher shortage only growing, it seems to be getting worse. No teacher is ever just a teacher, even if their low paycheck says otherwise. Teachers are social workers, therapists, soccer coaches, babysitters, and, in Jonatan Etzler’s black comedy, Bad Apples, prison wardens. Good-natured, if incredibly stupid, Maria (Saoirse Ronan) is a primary school teacher of a pleasant class of ten-year-olds… and Danny (Eddie Waller). More Eric Cartman than just Bart Simpson, Danny is a violent menace who commits attempted murder of classmate Pauline (Nia Brown) in the first 15 minutes. Paramedics arrive, but not the police, for some unexplained reason. Nope, this is an issue for the school staff to sort out with Danny’s absent father. Maria locks Danny up in her basement like a deranged animal after he threatens to accuse her of attempted murder. And she still tries to teach him his ABCs.

Bad Apples is funny, topical and kept me engaged throughout. It moves at a tight rhythm with a solid grasp of comedic timing. The music, especially in the climax, ramps up the tension immensely. Saoirse Ronan, of Lady Bird fame, is an unsurprisingly phenomenal actress here. The way she panics in the climax had me at the edge of my seat. Child actors Eddie Waller and Nia Brown made magic out of the material. The camera work, especially on the apple scenes, was top-notch.

My main issue with the film, as with many others at TIFF, is the writing. Bad Apples is billed as a satire, which can be a get-out-of-jail-free card for logic issues, but nothing here made any sense. The police, for instance, disappear and reappear at the script’s convenience. Maria and the other school staff are so dumb that I never could believe for a second that anybody would let them drive, let alone be responsible for children. Pauline breaks her arm, but her parents don’t press charges or sue the school or anything. They even send her back to the same class. The police question Maria at the school gymnasium, rather than in an empty classroom or an office. Why was there just a table and chairs in the middle of the gym? Some kids walk in and deliver some dialogue, which is probably why that scene was in the gym. Maria had to fight Danny because he was attacking her car with a crowbar. She doesn’t call the police, and even if Danny accused her of assault, her car’s broken windows would’ve supported her story. It’s still a good movie because everything else about it was great. I would give the film an 8/10 for the acting alone. But for me, the core of a film is its story and message. I’m not sure what Bad Apples is trying to say about child discipline. The script feels AI-generated. TIFF is also hosting conferences about AI filmmaking. People watching movies while scrolling their phones won’t question writing issues anyway. It’s all just content through a pipeline, right?

Spoilers, but the parents decide that Danny deserves to be locked up in Maria’s basement. Maria gets a promotion. What a cynical ending. Imagine if there were facilities for youth criminals. I bet Bad Apples will remain popular among current and former teachers for years to come. The kids really aren’t alright.