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Based on the novel, Ondskan, by Swedish author Jan Guillou, Evil questions the very definition of the term by telling the story of Erik Ponti (Andreas Wilson), a high-schooler who confronts his violent past in order to overcome it. Directed by Mikael Håfström (Derailed), the film opens with Erik being expelled from high school for fighting, then being transferred to the militaristic academy, Stjärnsberg, as his last chance for graduation. Having been raised by a weak mother and an abusive stepfather, Erik's worldview is skewed by a sensitivity to injustice, so that when upper-classmen bully him and his best friend, Pierre Tanguy (Henrik Lundström), Erik is plagued by his desire to handle situations violently. Once Pierre teaches Erik about Gandhi, Erik quickly grasps the non-violent idea of mind over matter since he was forced to transcend physical pain as an abused child. However, when Erik does get his revenge on both his father and his schoolmates, his violence is justified. Evil sophisticatedly examines violence from the perspectives of its perpetrators and victims, showing how violence breeds violence. In learning how self-loathing begets violent behavior, protagonist Erik Ponti does much more than become a better person in the film. He becomes a living example of how an "evil" person can be multi-faceted, thus complicating an oversimplified concept of good versus evil.

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