Blood in the Classroom

Authors: Dpac
Location: Appleton

"Blood in the Classroom”

Directed by Brian De Palma
Produced by Martin Bregman
Screenplay by David Mamet
Music by Howard Shore

Principal Cast:

Jennifer Connelly as Mona Bing
Angela Bassett as Rachel
Joan Allen as Gail Kim
Edward Norton as Josh Olivier
Marcia Gay Harden as Anna Allen
Liam Aiken as Jeremy Mann

Tagline: "If school and getting away with murder were just so easy"

Synopsis: Gail Kim was a woman of power and was renowned in the society. She added Sherwood High School to her list of conquests by becoming the principal of the school. Idealistic in nature, she plotted a scheme which would assure that all the students in the school would pass with high grades and flying colors......She gave the average and not-so-bright students the answers to the questions of all the exams.

Mona, a new and devoted teacher, was told by her colleague about this school secret. Mona was taken aback and threatened to go to the board of education. Panicking, Rachel killed Mona. Gail and Rachel burnt Mona's body. Mona's application to the Teacher Exchange System of the UN was accepted and when the representative came he was forced to believe that Mona died a few weeks ago. But this sparked a suspicion as the TES official that came was Mona's high school sweetheart, Josh Olivier.

Josh had a feeling in his gut that forced him to act on this suspicion and so he came as a sub to the school. But in the course of time, Josh figured out the truth but wanted to know it out of Gail's mouth. So, one day he went into Gail's office and asked her to tell him the truth. Planning to shoot him later, she did spill the beans. During the conversation, Jeremy, a student, was caught for playing with his mobile in class and was sent to the principal's office alongside his friend. Outside the office, Jeremy, decided to take a video of the office with his mobile camera and the next thing he heard were 3 gun shots and his world went black, but the camera was still running. Rachel had witnessed this and knowing that the mobile had recorded everything, before anyone could realize what had just happened, Rachel took the mobile and hid it, but Josh had seen this.

Now, five years later, Josh is in jail as the police believed the story that Rachel gave about Josh killing the kids and Gail and placing the gun in her hands to make it look like it was a suicide. Anna was a missionary who has been preaching to the jailers once a week for 3 months now. Josh confided in Anna after finding out that Anna was Liam's mother. Anna, convinced that Josh is telling the truth and sure that Rachel hasn't discarded that video, sets out to find Rachel and reveal the truth which all started from cheating in an exam......

What the press would say:

Amazing! Amazing! Brain DePalma follows his critical failure Black Dahlia with a sure-to-be-a-hit movie. Brian does an excellent job directing this movie about how an idealistic principal somewhere in her twisted mind thought it was okay to go against the very meaning of an exam and supply the answers tot the students, beforehand. But little did she know that this world has also devoted teachers who wouldn't tolerate that, and one of which is Mona, a true teacher who just couldn't agree with that new policy and had to pay with her life. Joan Allen is amazing and is flawless as the principal Gail Kim. Her performance is meticulous and disappears into the powerful and very striking character of Gail. Edward Norton is also another gem to this movie. He is a standout as the TES representative who relies on his instincts and acts on the suspicion and nearly solves the case before he realizes the mess he's gotten himself in. Edward Norton remarkably portrays Josh with near perfection. But the real jewels in the crown are Angela Bassett and Marcia Harden. Angela is the diabolical Rachel who began this mess by killing Mona and Marcia is the preacher Anna, who helps Josh to solve the case and in finding Rachel. Both Angela and Marcia are sure locks in the nominations for the Actress and Best Supporting Actress categories, respectively. I'm sure of that as their performances are undoubtedly the best this year. Both sink deep into their roles and make us believe that they are who they are portraying on screen. With many twists and turns in the storyline, this movie will keep you glued to your seats once it hooks you in.....

All in all...Blood in the Classroom is by far the best work of Brian and will bag many awards come awards season.

Possible Nominations

Best Picture
Best Director
Best Original Screenplay
Best Actor - Edward Norton
Best Actress - Angela Bassett
Best Supporting Actress - Joan Allen and Marcia Gay Harden
Best Original Score
Best Set Direction
Best Film Editing
Best Cinematography