RATING: 2.5/5 Bag
of Chips
Netflix has just rolled out an eerily timely and relevant, Black Mirror-esque modern take to antihero-led films such as Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver or even Todd Phillips’ Joker from last year. But with these somewhat unavoidable comparisons in view, does Polish thriller The Hater (directed by Jan Komasa and written by Mateusz Pacewicz) deliver as much substance?
THE MOVIE
Disgraced law student Tomasz (Maciej Musiałowski), dismissed from the university due to plagiarism, works as a social media post moderator – filtering inappropriate and gruesome photos from socmed platforms. In his spare time, he is a lonely, misanthropic, creepy individual, spying on his friends and education financiers Zofia (Danuta Stenka) and Robert Krasucki (Jacek Koman) and their daughter Gabi (Vanessa Aleksander), to whom Tomasz is deeply infatuated with. But where he seemingly lacks in social adeptness, he makes up with ruthless ambition, which takes him higher up the ranks in Best Buzz PR Agency, owned and operated by the amoral Beata (Agata Kulesza). Tomasz’ new career as an online character assassin sucks him deep into the heat of politics, with mayoral candidate Pawel Rudnicki (Maciej Stuhr) in the center of it all.
MY OPINION
Needless to say, The Hater is globally relevant amid the seeming dominance of online manipulation to affect world events such as political and celebrity-centered mudslinging. In this regard, the film is a fascinating study on how easy it is to control and shape public opinion through downright unethical strategies that heavily involve social media and its users. As a viewer, it felt like this message is the film’s main concern – to accurately recreate our real-world woes brought about by social media usage through the movie’s fictional universe. It succeeds in doing so, and all the viewers need to do is to fill in all the blanks with what’s already happening in our social and political landscape.
However, the film’s power is watered down by a lack in character development for its lead Tomasz, who carries the whole film on his shoulder. There is no other dimension or layer to Tomasz’ character, other than being a total empathy-less sociopath with an affinity for social media and privacy invasion tactics. It may also be an issue in Maciej Musiałowski’s performance, which felt flat, one-note and one-dimensional all throughout the film, making it hard for me as a viewer to believe he can manipulate all these people around him to following his will – as he always looks creepy, maniacal and totally untrustworthy even in front of the people he tries to exploit.
In short, the movie seems to be more concerned in making us take a cold, hard look at the mirror of today’s society than presenting a well-developed, interesting and captivating antihero, which was done excellently by similar films such as the aforementioned Taxi Driver and Joker.
THE WRAP-UP
Though it lacks richness in characters and narrative, The Hater may still be a great watch for those interested in its theme and socio-political commentary. In my book, it is not a bad film, but it could have been elevated by a truly nuanced and well-written lead character with a captivating, complex performance from a lead actor.