I really enjoyed Cracks. It’s not the kind of film I would add to my collection and enjoy over and over, but it was well-written, well-acted and interesting. The film used subtext beautifully and in layers, like the way you gradually realize that the “diving team” is actually just all the girls in the school whose parents don’t want them. The character of Miss G. is really well-written and fascinating. She is part surrogate mother, part humanitarian, part fraud, part hack-psychotherapist, part ham, part savior, part lonely spinster, part sexual deviant. It’s a wonderful character, played with skill and marvelous sensitivity and restraint by Eva Green. It’s the kind of character that few go through the trouble to write nowadays. The kids are a wonderful ensemble, and each girl on the “team” has a distinct and pleasing personality that comes through clearly without ever distracting from the fascinating group dynamic they are all involved in, and the relationship of the group to Miss G..

It is interesting how much better this film is than Never Let Me Go, another grim British boarding school film, one that got significantly more positive press than Cracks. Given a choice of watching one of these two films again, Cracks wins without a moment’s hesitation.

I won’t say anymore, so as to not give anything away. I recommend that you check out this film if you are in the mood for a smart, classy and diverting change of pace.