STORYLINE: An anxious 12-year-old navigates the savage social order at an all-boys water polo summer camp. He is pulled into a cruel tradition targeting an outcast with an illness they call “The Plague,” but as the lines between game and reality blur, he fears the joke might be hiding something real. (IMDb)

  The high school experience has been well documented throughout cinema.  John Hughes has done it most famously with films such as Sixteen Candles (1984) and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986).  In 2004 Tina Fey released Mean Girls.  I can not forget the cult classic Donnie Darko (2001).  Joel Edgerton stars in The Plague, a new drama about those teenage years. 

   The Plague is a rough reminder of that puberty stricken time.  The film dives head on into themes such as fitting in as the new kid, bullying, and peer pressure.  It is relentless on these points.  This creates a socially awkward, and a difficult movie, to watch.  These kind of movies can be good to watch because it is ok to get out of my confort zone every so often. 

  The themes listed are important. The Plague handles them responsibly. That’s a very good thing.  It’s hard to find a movie that does that.  Films either go to far or not far enough with these issues. The Plague hits the balance. 

   The Plague is a difficult film to watch because it tackles difficult, but important themes. 

    Until next time I will see you at the movies!