THE WORST ONES - Mark Reviews Movies

The Worst Ones, Kino Lorber

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Review by Mark Dujsik | March 23, 2023

Directors Lise Akoka and Romane Gueret's The Worst Ones presents a series of ethical questions about filmmaking, especially when it comes to the participation of children in the process. The film may not be willing or able to answer most of the queries it presents, but they are presented in such a considered, thoughtful, and personal way that it's difficult to fault the film for not taking a definitive stance and being a bit sentimental in the solutions it does imagine.

The story is set in an impoverished neighborhood in northern France, and it revolves around the production of a movie, written and directed by Belgian first-timer Gabriel (Johan Heldenbergh). His goal for this domestic drama about broken families and teenage pregnancy is authenticity, so after auditioning a few hundred local kids for the most important roles, Gabriel ends up casting four of them.

Maylis (Mélina Vanderplancke), whose face suggests a considerate nature and whose eyes communicate some deep sadness, wonders why she's included with the others. Lily (Mallory Wanecque), Jesssy (Loïc Pech), and young Ryan (Timéo Mahaut) are widely considered to be "the worst ones" of the neighborhood. Lily, playing the teen who becomes pregnant, is rumored to sleep with a lot of guys, and Jessy, playing the boyfriend, is rough and insulting with just about everyone.

As for Ryan, the boy playing the pregnant girl's conflicted brother has trouble concentrating in school, has a mother in a mental health facility, is being raised by his elder sister Mélodie (Angélique Gernez), and is prone to outbursts of anger. There's a discomforting and slightly frightening scene in which Gabriel convinces another young actor to insult Ryan's mother, knowing that such words will almost certainly trigger the kid's rage. Gabriel gets the scene, of course, but at what cost to poor Ryan?

We learn about the other kids, too—well, the ones who stay, for sure, although seeing one take a stand and leave says a lot about that kid, as well. One suffered a tragic death in the family and hasn't fully recovered. One may talk a big game but, during a scene of play-acted intimacy, looks as if being on the verge of illness from nerves. The big question is at what point the search for "authenticity" crosses into manipulation and exploitation. While Gabriel is pointedly aloof to such concerns, the screenplay, written by the directors and Elénore Gurrey, is so focused on the lives and worries of these kids—on set, behind-the-scenes, and back at home—that it constantly prompts us to think of them above and beyond everything else.

That's the right approach, especially since The Worst Ones only touches upon larger concerns about how such material might reinforce stereotypes and do more damage to the area. Again, the film overlooks or bypasses certain things, but the struggles and challenges these kids face definitely aren't among them.

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