Best friends Sophie and Agatha are two misfits trying to survive the mundane village of Gavaldon. They’re somewhat opposite sides of the same coin. Sophie (Sophia Anne Caruso) resembles a character you’d see in a princess origin story. She has long blonde tresses, is unfairly treated by her stepmother, and longs for a happy ending. On the other hand, Agatha (Sofia Wylie) has a grim esthetic. She lives with her offbeat mother and seems to have the makings to be a real witch. They visit the village bookstore. Agatha inquires about new ghost stories while Sophie is on the hunt for fairy tales. The bookshop owner (Patty Lapone) points them to an older edition embossed with the letters “SGE” — The School for Good and Evil.
According to legend, the school is responsible for the true story behind every fairytale. The School for Good trains the heroes, while the School for Bad trains the villains. After hearing about this mysterious school, Sophie makes a wish on the wishing tree hoping to be swept away. One night under a blood-red moon Sophie gets her to wish, and she and Agatha are snatched up by a giant skeletal bird called a stymph. Things don’t go according to plan. Sophie is dropped into the School for Evil, run by the vivacious acid-tongued Lady Lesso (Charlize Theron), and Agatha dropped into the School for Good, overseen by the beautiful and warm Professor Dovey (Kerry Washington).
The girls are considered “readers” because they aren’t descendants of actual fairytale characters, and all of their knowledge about that world has come from books.
Sophie and Agatha visit the School Master (Laurence Fishburne), but he declares that they do not make mistakes and that each student is where they are supposed to be. The only way to prove that a mistake has been made is through — you guessed it — true love’s kiss. Agatha promises to help Sophie prove her goodness. Still, Sophie’s dark side is unearthed in the process, and she adapts to the role she’s been assigned in the School of Evil. Meanwhile, something else lurks in the school halls appearing and disappearing via blood magic.
This fantasy debut comes from prolific comedy writer Paul Feig, but you would not guess that this is his first genre film by the way it unfolds.
The film quickly immerses you into the fantastical world of the story. The pacing is steady but moves quickly. It doesn’t stop to answer some of the questions that the film itself starts to pose. With the movie being almost 2.5 hours, it’s strange that it doesn’t allow the story to breathe. Still, several things work exceptionally well in this movie, creating the hope for more installments in the future.
The cast is just as magical as the story.
Charlize Theron and Kerry Washington lead each school, with Theron as Lady Lasso, dean of the School for Evil, and Washington as Professor Dovey, dean of the School for Good. For this choice casting, we take our hats off to casting director, Fiona Weir. Theron emanates a fluidly wicked disposition that makes you wanna be bad, too (shout out to Willa Ford). Washington’s bubbly persona is infectious and would make even the most rugged person ditch their emo vibe for Barbiecore. They play off of each other well, and though we only got a taste, it’s exciting to think about how they’ll interact in an upcoming sequel. Other faculty include The School Master played by Laurence Fishburne, and School for Good’s Professor Anemone played by Michelle Yeoh. And, somewhat clichéd or not, it was beautiful to hear the narration of Cate Blancett’s voice as the Storian. Some observations see this stellar cast as underutilized but the film isn’t about the teachers as much as it is about the students so Weir’s decision to cast accomplished talent to embed was a cherry on top.
The costume and set design are immaculate.
Author of the best-selling book series, Soman Chainani, said that he wanted “a magical school that felt like a Madonna concert.” Costume designer, Renée Ehrlich Kalfus worked with Feig on his previous film A Simple Favor. Hair and makeup designer Lisa Tomblin-Fitzpatrick previously worked on Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Parts 1 and 2. There were several one-off pieces purchased in vintage shops, but all 867 costumes and 600 pairs of boots and shoes were created from scratch by more than 70 customers. More than 100 wigs were used, including nine dedicated to Caruso’s character alone. Lady Lesso’s style was inspired by women of the 1940s such as Katharine Hepburn and Marlene Dietrich. Meanwhile, Professor Dovey’s hairstyle was inspired by Beyoncé. Those intricate details were not lost on the majesty of the film’s look.
Production designer, Andy Nicholson (Captain Marvel) used Art Nouveau architecture as the foundation for both schools so they resembled each other while maintaining distinct identities. The School for Good was modeled after Flemish Art Nouveau styles and the School for Evil on gothic and Basque Nouveau. Each set was built including the main halls and the Gallery of Good and Evil. A lot of the work was done on camera. In fantasy, visual effects are unavoidable but the balance is well maintained and the world we’re in feels real and tangible.
The idea of good and evil.
One of the reasons Feig was drawn into this story was not just because of the relationship between Agatha and Sophie, but also what it says about the idea of good and evil. “We’re all a mix of good and evil, and scared and brave, and confident and insecure,” said Feig. In a world where people are summed up by a tweet or act and written off as being one thing or another, the film reminds us that people are more complex than that. And that one bad decision doesn’t determine who you are as a whole. It also reminds us that there’s always time to change and that our past doesn’t have to determine our future.
Although the film might’ve been better served as a series, I find Feig’s genre debut to be quite enjoyable. If you enjoyed Once Upon A Time, Descendents, or Wicked, you’re in for a treat. It’s a film you can watch with the whole family and it might even inspire your teens and tweens to get excited about reading. Hopefully, the School for Good and Evil receives accreditation from Netflix and opens enrollment for more films based on this incredible book series.
The School for Good and Evil is now streaming on Netflix.
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
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