I have just seen this movie for the first time in my life. I could tell from the get-go that it was something I was going to enjoy, and I wasn’t disappointed.
It’s very theatrical, the action for the most part being confined to the one set (the library): it’s basically five different student archetypes in detention, and as the movie unfolds we learn more about them all, why they are there, all the problems they have at home etc, and gradually they begin to bond.
It works because we can all identify with one or other of these characters, we were all one or other of them in our own youth.
The most interesting character is Bender. He starts out being the archetypal bully who will - and does - take a pop at anyone. But then in the middle, when they’re trying to get back to the library after their little sortie to the locker room, he basically “takes one for the team” - he correctly surmises that if he can distract the teacher for long enough to give the others time to get back to the library, Mr Vernon will not think to suspect that the others had anything to do with it. Predictably, he comes from the most broken home of the bunch.
Conversely, Claire, the archetypal prom queen, starts off very nice and supportive towards the others when Bender has a go at them but ultimately ends up revealing herself to have a very shallow superficial streak. She basically trades on her looks (and her parents’ money) to get ahead in life. How she and Bender end up together at the end is beyond me. I doubt they stayed together long. He could do so much better.
Andy, the jock, is similar, but more human. He ultimately does feel remorse about what he has done wrong. He’s trying to be the good guy, he acknowledges when he’s at fault.
Brian, the intellectual, is the character I can probably relate to the most. His insecurities lie in his intellect - he gets A grades in everything, the one time he gets an F, he sees it as a stain on his character. I feel pain on his behalf when he’s the only one not coupled up at the end. However, he gets to have the last laugh against Mr Vernon by his comments about how “you’ve already judged us”.
As for Alison - I can’t really pin her down. She’s the quiet one for a long time, it’s very late in proceedings indeed before she opens up. At first she appears to be a dreamer, but then turns out to have a very weird streak running through her, she is as disturbed as Bender but without the aggression. Ultimately, she still manages to retain a modicum of honesty and decency, despite admitting to being a compulsive liar.
This would work very well as a stage play.
