Club Zero (2023)
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
At an international boarding school, an unassuming, yet rigorous, Miss Novak (Mia Wasikowska) joins the teaching staff to instruct a new class on "conscious eating". Her impressionable teenage students each have their own reasons for joining the class - to improve fitness, reduce their carbon footprint, or get extra credit. Although early lectures focus on mindful consumption, Miss Novak's discussions soon become increasingly disordered and extreme. A suspicious headmistress, concerned parents and the failing health of her students lead everyone to question the inscrutable Miss Novak's motivations for teaching the class. As a few devoted pupils fall deeper under her cult-like tutelage, they are given a new, even more sinister goal to aspire to - joining the ominous "Club Zero". - Actors:
- Mia Wasikowska, Ksenia Devriendt, Luke Barker, Florence Baker, Samuel D Anderson, Gwen Currant, Andrei Hozoc, Sade McNichols-Thomas, Sidse babett Knudsen, Amir El-Masry, Amanda Lawrence, Sam Hoare, Elsa Zylberstein, Mathieu Demy, Lukas Turtur, Keeley Forsyth, Camilla Rutherford, Szandra Asztalos, Laoisha O'Callaghan, Rebecca Crankshaw
- Directors:
- Jessica Hausner
- Producers:
- Philippe Bober, Mike Goodridge, Johannes Schubert, Bruno Wagner
- Writers:
- Jessica Hausner, Géraldine Bajard
- Genres:
- Comedy, Drama, Thrillers
Reviews (1) of Club Zero
Excellent if Stylised & Stagey Exploration of Eating Disorders & Peer Pressure at a Posh School - Club Zero review by PV
I really liked this but had no idea what to expect. The third act does drag and the quasi-religious bits are too obvious and not as clever as the writers/director thinks but...
All in all a pleasing watch about peer pressure via impressionable teens desperate to belong and consequent eating disorders and fads, especially the socalled Breatharian movement which is a real thing. The focus on cod-science and New Age nonsense is bang on, as are the fake claims for health and 'saving the planet'.
The actress playing Miss Nowak very much as Swedish Greta T (complete with hairdo!) does a great job in showing a very female type of manipulation, last ween played as well in The Beach with Leonardo diC. It's all always about CONTROL.
I would seriously advise all who liked this film to watch Fog in August (Nebel im August) is a 2016 German drama film directed by Kai Wessel about a school on an island where difficult/disabled kids - troublemakers and rebels usually - were sent in WWII. Based on truth, shockingly.
The sort of pc liberal child-centred 'progressive' school is based on real establishments I think, such as AS Neil's SUMMERHILL school and several others.
A shame about the final act, and not sure I buy some relationships stuff but the progressive parents are horribly true-to-life, even if some acting is rather wooden. Also, in private schools there's more than one black student - there are loads of BAME pupils at top public schools, 25% of enrolments, many south Asian kids and none was shown here which is a misrepresentation really.
But 4 stars. A surprisingly enjoyable and intelligent watch.