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Evil

REVIEW The time is 1958, the setting is Sweden, and though that country remained neutral during World War II, after digging a little beyond the pleasant surface, one might think the upper-class boys' boarding school Stjärnsberg is a wee hotbed of Nazi youth. It's where 16-year-old Erik (Andreas Wilson) ends up after he's expelled from a public institution for being a bully so "vicious" the principal calls him "evil in its purest form" to his face. Just why Erik got in so many fights is left unexplained, though his formidable rage might have something to do with the frequent beatings his stepfather ministers with a little too much glee. Stjärnsberg is Erik's last chance — entering adulthood without a high school diploma will make his prospects grim indeed — and having promised Mother that he'll keep his nose clean, he duly resolves to study hard and keep a low profile. The latter tactic has worked well enough for his affable brainiac roommate Pierre (Henrik Lundström) in avoiding the in-house discipline that the faculty allows seniors to often sadistically lord over underclassmen. But Erik refuses to be humiliated, or punished, for no good reason; a champion swimmer, he also refuses to lose a race simply because an older, well-born student is "supposed" to win. Such defiance is enough to bring down the full wrath of aristocratic top-boy Otto (Gustaf Skarsgard) and his flunkies upon Erik and his friends. Adapted from Jan Guillou's novel, Mikael Hafström's finely crafted film is formulaic at the core — in the tradition of Gary Cooper, Billy Jack, and a thousand other taciturn heroes, Erik is the right-minded peacenik of few words who'll turn the other cheek — to a point. Of course, the whole movie is spent waiting for that point, when he kicks major ass to our great satisfaction. Hey, when the formula works, it works. Anchored by Wilson's credibly slow-burning performance, Evil (which took three years to get here, despite its 2004 Oscar nomination) is so good it's almost on par with all-time-great Boarding School Hell movies like Another Country, Young Torless, and The Devil's Playground. (Dennis Harvey)

EVIL opens Fri/31 at the Lumiere Theatre, 1572 California, SF

(415) 267-4893, www.landmarktheatres.com

Go to www.sfbg.com for showtimes.