In everyone's life there's that one person who makes all the difference. William Hundert, a retired 'old-school' classics teacher is passionate about his subject. Moreover, he strongly believes in moulding his students by using principles. However, his methods are put to the test by a new student, Sedgewick Bell who shakes Hundert's controlled world and threatens to undermine all that he stands for. Hundert's challenge is to change this young man while maintaining his integrity. Lessons abound for the students and teacher culminating in a reunion 25 years later.
Directed by
Michael Hoffman
Written by
Ethan Canin (short story The Palace Thief); Neil Tolkin (screenplay).
Starring
Kevin Kline (William Hundert); Emile Hirsch (Sedgewick Bell); Embeth Davidtz (Elizabeth); Rob Morrow (James Ellerby); Edward Herrmann (Headmaster Woodbridge); Harris Yulin (Senator Bell); Paul Dano (Martin Blythe); Rishi Mehta (Deepak Mehta); Jesse Eisenberg (Louis Masoudi); Gabriel Millman (Robert Brewster (as Gabe Millman)); Chris Morales (Eugene Field); Luca Bigini (Copeland Gray); Michael Coppola (Russell Hall); Sean Fredricks (Mr. Harris); Katherine O'Sullivan (The Nun). Please contact SFC to add other cast members and characters.
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A Welcome Rarity of a Film
Mark Banks (United Kingdom)
Opinion: Recommended
I liked The Emperor's Club, which for me is a rarity for any film set in a private/fee-paying school; be it the students in Dead Poet's Society, Skylar in Good Will Hunting or Charlie (Chris O'Donnell) in Scent of a Woman I normally find it hard to work up any real empathy for the characters. I think there's always something of the Gospel passage where the rich man asks Jesus what more he can do to enter the Kingdom of God and Jesus tells him to go and sell everything he owns and become a disciple of his, then the man walks away disappointed. So whenever a character/s is benefiting from money that millions of others could benefit greatly from, whilst not necessarily a reason to be antagonistic towards them, it's hard to generate any great deal of empathy for them. And yet in The Emperor's Club for me that empathy was achieved, and it was achieved through focussing on an injustice that is wrong no matter who the person is, but perhaps more so that the reaction to this injustice is kept in-balance with the grand scheme of the situation, with an implicit awareness that worse things could have happened and it's still a very fortunate life they are living. Kevin Kline turns in a commendable performance as William Hundert and the supporting cast is more than capable too. This is a good film for teens and up.
