I think Cantet's adept crafting of the film dupes the most ardent fanatic of independent cinema into thinking we're watching something transcendentally profound whereas I think he's actually missing great opportunities to say something truly meaningful. Growing up in London with a similar schooling experience the film brought back many of the feelings associated with those years, but this is primarily the frustrations at a teacher who frequently mishandles confrontations and cannot connect with his students, students with a bad attitude who spoil a potentially enjoyable learning experience, and the consequences of a confused student's unchecked aggression. Of course everything is observed perfectly, the problem is that as Matthew Serrano of Film Threat said "the film is as familiar as an aerial virtual reality ride would be to an airplane pilot". I saw all of this when I was in school, what I didn't see and expected from the film were the insights into why they occurred and a study of the people behind the behaviour. It's too bad with so much material to explore, Cantet focuses more on plot development than character study.
