Film Review: If…

If... is a peculiar little film but a brilliant one all the same.

More DetailsAbout If... (1968)Allegorical drama from director Lindsay Anderson in which a group of non-conformist students lead a revolt against their oppressive masters at an English private school. Parallels are drawn in the film between the bullying, inflexible and snobbish approach of the schoolmasters to their pupils, led by the rebellious Mick Travis (Malcolm McDowell), and the dysfunction and injustice of the British class system at large. As Mick and his gang of cohorts indulge in acts of petty disobedience, such as heading into town to try and seduce a local waitress, the school’s acts of retribution, led by Rowntree (Robert Swann), become increasingly cruel and malicious. Finally, the students are provoked into open rebellion, the bloody nature of which shocked a number of commentators at the time and led to claims that the film aimed to provoke a violent uprising in society as a whole.

Starring: Malcolm McDowell, David Wood, Richard Warwick, Christine Noonan, Rupert Webster

Directed by: Lindsay Anderson

Runtime: 107 minutes

Studio: Paramount Home Entertainment

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Review: If… 

Lindsay Anderson’s drama depicts life in a public school where a trio of boys are pushed to the brink and begin a makeshift revolution against the establishment. The film tells their story across the school year beginning with the return of the students from the summer break. Mick Travis (Malcolm McDowell) shows his tendency to rebel by arriving with a hat and much of his face covered. He is slow in getting back into routine but heads for a secluded room where he hangs around with Wallace (Richard Warwick) and Johnny (David Wood). Mick has returned to school sporting a moustache which he has to shave off before the new term begins. The room he and his friends hang around in has a secret stash of vodka and historical images of political leaders and revolutionaries on the walls. The trio are somewhat maladjusted in the school and do not conform to its traditions and rules.

While the Housemaster (Arthur Lowe) and his wife Mrs Kemp (Mary MacLeod) take a back seat to school proceedings, the Headmaster (Peter Jeffrey) entrusts authority in the school with the Whips, a select group of senior students, administering discipline and watched over by their leader Rowntree (Robert Swann). This isn’t a place for the weak or the unusual. One boy is struck round the head when he not only forgets the words to a recitation but doesn’t speak them in a proper manner. Another has his trousers pulled down and he is tied upside down in a cubicle with his head in the toilet just for being a little different. Mick, Wallace and Johnny have minor brushes with authority to begin with but gradually they push the boundaries. Mick and Johnny take an unauthorised trip away from school, steal a motorbike and Mick finds love with a girl at a cafe (Christine Noonan). Meanwhile, Wallace has the beginnings of a romance with a junior Bobby Philips (Rupert Webster). All of this builds to a quintet of Crusaders taking on the school.

If… wasn’t what I was expecting. A tale of students leading a revolution against the archaic system of public school life is there but the film also contains some peculiar and surreal elements. Mick’s encounter with the girl at the cafe begins with a slapped face when he forcibly kisses her before they exchange tiger impersonations before rolling around on the floor, first fully clothed then naked and wild, while Johnny sits obliviously nearby. The school has the students out fighting a war against each other in military gear with explosions all around them. Some sections of the film randomly appear in black and white with the reasoning behind this being debatable though the director did once suggest limited funding. The ending is more a surreal farce than an outright display of violence as the revolution gathers pace but despite all that it’s thoroughly entertaining throughout with a terrific turn from McDowell, giving glimmers of his sublime performance that would follow as Alex in A Clockwork Orange three years later.

If… is a peculiar little film but a brilliant one all the same. It has all the strictness of public school life on display but in its three revolutionaries the system is made a mockery of and everything descends into chaos by the end. The conclusion might be unfortunately abrupt but as a whole this is a very different experience.

Verdict: 4/5

(Film source: reviewer’s own copy)