Film reviews: Bad Apples is a bold dark comedy with a good core

Plus a delightful new entry in the Shaun the Sheep franchise

Fri, 18 Sep, 2026 - 09:00

Cara O'Doherty

Bad Apples

★★★★☆

In the darkly comic Bad Apples (15a), Saoirse Ronan plays Maria, a much-put-upon teacher. She may have enjoyed teaching once, but an out-of-control, borderline-feral 10-year-old Danny (Eddie Waller) consumes all of Maria’s attention.

As a result, the other students are suffering. Their work slips, and everyone is afraid and miserable.

The school’s principal (Rakie Ayola) insists that Maria control the boy. When Maria asks for a support teacher to help with him, the principal is adamant that there isn’t room in the budget.

At home, things are no easier. Danny’s father, Josh (Robert Emms), is raising him alone and struggles to cope with his son’s increasingly difficult behaviour.

Things eventually come to a head when Danny pushes his class-mate Pauline (Nia Brown) down the stairs. Danny is suspended, but when the school can’t reach Josh, Maria decides to track him down herself.

Maria finds Josh, but he is under pressure from work and can’t talk with her. On her way to her car, she sees Danny smashing up cars, including her own. When he attacks her, she defends herself, knocking him unconscious. Danny comes around on the way to the hospital and, during a heated exchange, threatens to tell the police that Maria attacked him.

Terrified of what might happen, Maria turns the car around and takes Danny back to her house instead, where he takes out his anger on her furniture. Completely frightened and at the end of her tether, Maria locks Danny in the basement.

This is where the dark comedy really kicks in. Maria decides to keep Danny locked in her basement. Over the following days, she cooperates with the police investigation into his disappearance and even joins the search parties looking for him — all while secretly knowing exactly where he is.

Meanwhile, Danny’s classmates are delighted that he is gone. For the first time, the classroom is calm and quiet. They can actually get on with their work without constantly worrying about Danny kicking off. Even Maria has to admit that, with Danny out of the picture, teaching suddenly seems a whole lot easier, and she begins to blossom.

Maria makes the basement feel more like home for Danny. She begins giving him lessons, and although he is still tied up, his life is arguably more stable than it has ever been.

This strange arrangement works — until Pauline discovers the truth. Suddenly, the power dynamic changes. Pauline blackmails Maria, and before long, Maria finds herself a hostage of sorts, held captive by the threat that a 10-year-old could reveal the truth.

The final act may be far-fetched, but it works brilliantly, delivering a wickedly dark and funny payoff. Based on the novel by Swedish author Rasmus Lindgren, Bad Apples proudly wears its Scandinavian comedy roots.

Ronan is brilliant as Maria fumbles from one bad idea to the next, and the young actors who play Pauline and Danny are superb.

Dark, funny, and a little bit bold, these Bad Apples have a good core.

Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom

★★★★☆

It is always a delight to see a Shaun the Sheep film hit cinemas. Shaun’s latest outing is Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom (G), which finds Shaun and his flock secretly growing pumpkins for Halloween.

As Halloween nears, their farmer is trying to pluck up the courage to ask the local vet to the village Halloween fair. There is just one problem. His once-flowing ginger locks are a thing of the past, and he fears his bald patch might put her off.

When the farmer accidentally crushes the pumpkin patch, Shaun, determined to save Halloween, uses a growing potion that promises to make anything sprout in double time. And it works. What nobody counts on is the farmer getting a dose of the potion himself — with spectacular results.

Before long, the farmer has gone from worrying about his thinning locks to sporting a magnificent mane that makes him look less like a lovesick farmer and more like a long-haired 1960s hippie. But long hair is the least of his problems. It simply refuses to stop growing, until the poor farmer is transformed into what can only be described as a giant, ginger Bigfoot.

Shaun has a rather hairy problem on his hands as the local village thinks Bigfoot has come to eat them, forcing the sheep to come up with a plan to save their farmer.

Laugh-out-loud funny, brilliant animation, and fantastic characters make this perfect for all ages. Film buffs will enjoy catching nods to classic horror and monster movies. Fantastic fun.

Just An Illusion

★★★★☆

Set in the 1980s, Just An Illusion (12a) captures a household caught in a rapidly changing world as 13-year-old Vincent (Simon Boublil) prepares for his bar mitzvah.

His father, Yves (Louis Garrel), recently lost his job but leaves for work each day hoping his kids don’t cop on, but Vincent’s older brother, Arnaud (Alexis Rosenstiehl), has figured out the truth.

Their mother, Sandrine (Camille Cottin), works as a secretary and is trying to adapt to the changing workplace, taking a course to learn how to use computers, which could lead to a better job.

Yves and Sandrine fight like cats and dogs, seemingly unable to agree on anything, but they have great passion.

Vincent is grappling with what it means to be French. Sandrine is French-Algerian Jewish, while Yves is French-Moroccan, leaving Vincent to wonder where he fits within these overlapping identities.

Family problems and questions about his heritage should be more than enough for Vincent to contend with, but adolescence has other complications in store. He is hopelessly in love with a girl in his class who barely seems to notice him.

Anne-Karine (Jeanne Lamartine) is the object of his growing obsession, and Vincent is convinced that, somehow, he can win her over. As young love blossoms, the whole family struggles to adapt to a rapidly changing world.

A fantastic 1980s soundtrack, terrific chemistry between Garrel and Cottin, and excellent performances from the young cast make this a hugely enjoyable coming-of-age story. Warm, witty, and full of heart, Just An Illusion is well worth a trip to the cinema.