Lord of the Files | Teen Ink

Lord of the Files

March 20, 2012
By Sujeong BRONZE, Bangkok, Other
Sujeong BRONZE, Bangkok, Other
1 article 0 photos 0 comments

Are rules and orders essential for our society to function? Many people think that rules and orders make them feel uncomfortable and frustrated to follow. However, the movie “Lord of the Flies” shows that rules and orders help control people. The story focuses on two opposite groups of boys on an unnamed island where they follow rules at first but ignore them at the end.

American military school boys survive a plane crash on an unknown island during a war. Ralph (Balthazar Getty) becomes the leader of the group and makes some rules to follow at the beginning of the movie. Soon after Jack(Chris Furrh) acts against Ralph because they have different views about leadership surviving the island. The boys divide into two groups that are Ralph’s shelter group and Jack’s hunting group. Piggy(Danuel Pipoly) decides to follow Ralph and Roger(Gary Rule) soon follows Jack after the group of entire boys separate. However, Simon(James Badge Dale) stands by himself and is like an outsider from both groups as he doesn’t become involved in one side or the other.

Chris Furrh does a wonderful job as the main antagonist, Jack. The character of Jack goes through many changes in the story. He starts off as an obedient person who thinks he can be better leader than other people. Chris Furrh convinces the audience that he is very obedient and follows the rules and leader’s opinion but also shows his superior feeling to other characters. When he goes against Ralph(Balthazar Getty), Chris Furrh shows great power in his anger and shouting. After I read the novel, I imagine the appearance of Piggy. Danuel Piploy as Piggy in the movie is matched what I picture him in the book. Also, the actor is exactly how I think Piggy will look like and act when I read the story. Even though I like the character who plays the role of Ralph, Balthazar Getty isn’t strong enough to impact the audience. He is too weak at times instead of showing strong leadership qualities.

I like how they change the symbol of the beast between the novel and the movie. The beast in the novel is very abstract but in the movie, it is more concrete. This makes it more enjoyable and scarier for the viewer. I don’t like other changes make from the novel to the movie. They can have made some parts of the movie more similar to the novel. In particular, the major events in the story.

From the movie, I learn how important it is to have rules in a place. I also believe that we can learn how the value of compromise with others can save a place from being destroyed. Even though there are some opposite opinions between people, the story teaches the reader that everyone needs to work together and tries their best to compromise with others. Also, the need for consequences is a very big part of the story. In the movie “Lord of the flies”, Roger(Gary Rule) is the perfect example of this. When rules are not followed, chaos becomes powerful.

I recommend this movie to teenagers between 14 and 18. Firstly, there are a lot of violence, bad languages and scary scenes that are inappropriate for younger viewers. Secondly, when teenagers watch this, they can see why it is important to follow rules set in society. I also think teenagers will enjoy the action and can connect to the story more than others because many teenagers want to avoid from adults and school rules. Many teenage viewers will wish they are part of the group of boys in the movie. I rate this movie as PG-13.

Scale of 1-5:
3 ½


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