Saoirse Ronan is trading in her period-drama corsets for a completely unhinged, pitch-black comedy in Bad Apples. Radio Nova recently caught up with Swedish director Jonatan Etzler to discuss the wildly dark film, finding the perfect child star, and why the four-time Oscar nominee was always his first choice for the role.
At just 32 years of age, the 7 Time BAFTA nominee has firmly cemented herself as one of Ireland’s greatest cinematic exports. From her breakout Academy Award-nominated role in Atonement to her unforgettable, critically acclaimed performances in Brooklyn, Lady Bird, and Little Women, she has spent her career playing deeply sympathetic, often heroic young women. She is practically acting royalty here in Ireland, making this drastic pivot into sinister, laugh-out-loud black comedy all the more thrilling for her fans.
Adapted from Rasmus Lindgren's Swedish book, the film boasts a truly wild premise. Bad Apples follows Maria, played by Ronan, a young, idealistic primary school teacher who simply wants to inspire her class. Her optimism is pushed to the absolute breaking point by Danny, a notoriously difficult 10-year-old student played by incredible newcomer Eddie Waller.
Speaking to Radio Nova about the shocking setup, Etzler explained: "A series of bad decisions lead to her inadvertently locking him up in the basement of her house. And then she comes back to school the next day, and this has had a lot of unexpected positive effects. So that's the sort of central premise of the film, and then it takes a lot of other wild twists and turns after that." Etzler confirmed that this extreme inciting incident happens within the first 15 minutes, paving the way for an unapologetically wild cinematic ride.
While audiences are used to seeing the beloved Irish actress in earnest roles, Etzler always saw a different side to her. After watching a Saturday Night Live sketch where Ronan played a flight attendant, he immediately realized she had the authority to play Maria. "I saw all that comic timing, which we don't get to see that much in films, I think," the director shared. Ronan was his first choice, and she jumped at the opportunity. "She responded within a week and she wanted to meet, and she was so enthusiastic about this because she always gets to play these good-hearted women and here she gets to lock up a child in a basement!" Etzler laughed.
To find the right actor to play the difficult student Danny, casting director Fiona Weir embarked on a massive search, auditioning 2,000 children across the UK. The production team was getting incredibly nervous as the shoot rapidly approached without a lead, until they discovered Eddie Waller in the North of England. Despite having only done local theatre, the young actor brought a raw intensity to the role. Etzler explained his vision for the character: "I wanted someone who had that special quality where you could feel like the anger is right underneath his skin and he could explode at any minute. And Eddie was the one."
Etzler himself is rapidly becoming a major name to watch in the world of film. He graduated from the Stockholm Academy of Dramatic Arts in 2018, and his thesis film, Get Ready With Me, a gripping story about a teenager who broadcasts her suicide on social media to her school, won first prize at the Student Academy Awards in Los Angeles. Since then, he has directed second unit for the HBO Nordic drama Beartown and shot his feature debut, the Netflix comedy One More Time, in 2022. Now, he is bringing his unique brand of storytelling to a massive global audience with Bad Apples, which is produced by Pulse Films and Hanway via Paramount.
Interestingly, Etzler originally tried to get the film made in his native Sweden, but local executives were overly cautious about the dark premise. "People were so cautious about the whole idea," he revealed. "They said like, 'Oh, maybe she doesn't have to lock him up in the basement, you know? Maybe he just goes there with his own free will, you know?'"
The UK companies he pitched it to, however, had a completely different reaction. "Everybody just said, 'Wow, this is great! This is so funny! She should lock up more kids!' I mean, I think you have a bit more sinister mentality maybe here in the UK, which is great," Etzler joked, noting that through this dark comedy space, the film can ask "complicated questions about morality".
The wild concept is already striking a chord with its target audience. During early festival screenings, Etzler shared that real-life teachers have frequently approached him. "There's usually a couple of teachers in the audience who come up to me afterwards, and they say like, 'Yeah, I had one of those kids in my class too, and I really wanted to lock him up! So this was a really cathartic experience to watch,'" he recalled with a smile.
Could this delightfully awkward and sinister role be the one that finally secures Saoirse Ronan her long-overdue Academy Award? Find out for yourself and see Bad Apples cinemas now!
