The School for Good and Evil – Netflix Review (3/5)

THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD AND EVIL on Netflix is a new fantasy movie. It also has quite a few very dark moments, so it’s perfect for watching a genre film as a family. Read our full The School for Good and Evil movie review here!

THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD AND EVIL is a new Netflix fantasy movie for the whole family. However, you’ll definitely want to watch it with your kids for the first run-through. The kids might want to watch it again and again, but due to a few quite dark and sinister moments, you should stay with them at first.

Adults will probably notice many other things – including important values and the morale of the story. Actually, there are several. Finally, the cast is awesome which is also something adults will probably appreciate more when it comes to the older (as in not teenager) characters.

Continue reading our The School for Good and Evil movie review below. It premieres on Netflix on October 19, 2022.

Is anyone entirely good or evil?

The core story in The School for Good and Evil actually focuses on whether dividing a school as such makes sense. Is anyone really all good or entirely evil?! Well, looking at the students in these two departments of the one school, the answer is a resounding no! 

Those who end up in the “Good” part of the school, are vain and obsessed with appearing good rather than actually being good. The ones who are in the “Evil” school have been told that witches and “not pretty” people are evil by default.

As such, the morale of The School for Good and Evil is that there is much more to being good or evil than what this school is teaching. You can do good things or evil things, but it’s not something you just are.

However, if someone constantly tells you that you’re one thing or the other, you’ll probably start believing it. And, more importantly, act accordingly. This is another important lesson; If someone hears they’re perfect, they believe it. If they’re told they are worthless, they will believe that.

Such a magical cast!

The entire cast of The School for Good and Evil is rather amazing. Mostly because the actors just go all-in on playing these very fairytale-stereotypical characters. Well, most of them, anyway!

As the narrator, called “The Storian”, we have Cate Blanchett. You’ll never see her, but her voice is easily recognizable. The schoolmaster is played by Laurence Fishburne and the two deans are portrayed by Charlize Theron and Kerry Washington (Scandal).

Charlize Theron (The Old Guard) is Lady Lesso, the Dean of The School of Evil, and she is clearly having a blast playing the villainous lady. Just as she did in Snow White and the Huntsman and The Huntsman: Winter’s War. Kerry Washington is Professor Dovey, the Dean of The School of Good.

These two Deans also have quite the battle since the school of Good always seems to win, and Lady Lesso (yeah, not loving that name) is getting tired of always losing the yearly battle!

Also among the adult characters in this movie, you’ll see Michelle Yeoh (Gunpowder Milkshake), Peter Serafinowicz (Shaun of the Dead), and Patti LuPone (Penny Dreadful).

The wonderful young talents

Finally, the two actual stars of The School for Good and Evil are Sophia Anne Caruso and Sofia Wylie. They are the two teenagers who find themselves suddenly enrolled in this school. They are best friends but don’t agree on much when it comes to this school.

One of them doesn’t want to be there and the other just wants to be in the other part of the school.

Sophia Anne Caruso (Evil) plays Sophie and while I liked her at first, I wasn’t crazy about her. Then came the final act and I just adored her. That’s when she really gets to shine in a very special kind of way.

Sofia Wylie (High School Musical: The Musical: The Series) plays Agatha, the girl who doesn’t belong in the small town where the two girls live, but certainly doesn’t want to be at this fairy tale school either. I loved Sofia Wylie from the first scene and she only got better throughout the story.

Yes, obviously because I related most to her character. But also because Sofia Wylie just stole every scene she was in. Across from Sophia Anne Caruso, the chemistry was just spot-on and they made each other even better!

Watch The School for Good and Evil on Netflix!

Paul Feig is the director of The School for Good and Evil on Netflix. I suspect you’ll recognize the name, Paul Feig, as he has directed major comedy hit movies such as Bridesmaids (2011) and Spy (2015). However, he has also been directing quite a few genre movies.

From the 2016 Ghostbusters to the crime-thriller-mystery-comedy hybrid A Simple Favor from 2018. In A Simple Favor, Blake Lively had a wardrobe clearly inspired by the three-piece suits Paul Feig is famous for wearing. In The School for Good and Evil, Charlize Theron is rocking that same look.

The movie is based on the book by Soman Chainani, who also wrote the screenplay with David Magee. David Magee also wrote adapted screenplays for movies such as Finding Neverland (2004), Life of Pi (2012), and Mary Poppins Returns (2018). A solid choice for this adaption!

I wasn’t sure what to expect from The School for Good and Evil, but I knew I liked the cast. As it turns out, I also really enjoyed watching this movie. A perfect genre film for the whole family. Full of color, darkness, fun, and sinister moments. And a few moments of pure nightmarish horror (I’m thinking of you, Mr. Pumpkinhead)!

The School for Good and Evil is on Netflix from October 19, 2022.

Details

Director: Paul Feig
Writers: David Magee and Laura Solon
Stars: Sophia Anne Caruso, Sofia Wylie, Laurence Fishburne, Michelle Yeoh, Jamie Flatters, Kit Young, Peter Serafinowicz, Rob Delaney, Mark Heap, Patti LuPone, Rachel Bloom, Kerry Washington, Charlize Theron, Earl Cave, Demi Isaac Oviawe, Freya Parks, Kaitlyn Akinpelumi, Holly Sturton, EmmaLau, Briony Scarlett, Ally Cubb, Rosie Graham, Joelle, Chinenye Ezeudu, Oliver Watson, Ali Khan, Harvey Scrimshaw, Myles Kamwendo, Misia Butler