The new movie, “The School for Good and Evil,” just released on Netflix and became an immediate hit, achieving the number one spot on Netflix’s top ten movies list for multiple days. While there were many positive reviews about the movie, several people were angry about the changes from the original book series.
The movie follows two girls from a village called Gavaldon, who hate their lives in their hometown. While Agatha has accepted her life there, her best friend, Sophie, longs for more. She seeks admission to the School for Good and Evil. The two girls are both taken, but in a twist, they are placed into the opposite schools that they would expect themselves to be placed in, based on their own personalities.
The movie explores the depth of human nature, critiquing the idea of black and white. “Truth and lies and good and evil — they mix in the world, both sides claim to be good, both sides claim to be telling the truth,” said NPR.
However, original readers of the books were not so pleased with this adaptation. Many criticize Sophie’s character claiming that she is “too nice” in the movie. In the books, Sophie was only friends with Agatha in order to use her, whereas in the movies they are childhood best friends. Other anger stemmed from the removal of the mirror scene, which many people claimed was crucial to Agatha’s character development.
In general, both readers and watchers agree that the movie was a little too fast-paced, and would have perhaps worked better as a TV series. This would have given more time for the character development and crucial plot points that were cut from the original series. “Changing the format from movie to TV would have resolved many of “The School for Good and Evil’s” problems,” said Screen Rant.
All in all, the movie is still a fun and easy watch that is worth taking the time to see. Viewers can determine for themselves whether the movie is a disappointment after the book series or is deserving of being on Netflix’s top ten movie list.