If…
Directed by Lindsay Anderson
1968

British and ultraviolent, a lot like It's A Knockout.

If, or to give its proper name If.... is widely regarded to be a classic (if somewhat revolutionary) piece of British cinema. The film explores life in a 60's British public school as well as the groups that inhabit it and the hierarchy they are part of. Despite the film being a satirisation of public school life the characters feel very real and can be related to on numerous levels.

Even though If…. is now 40 years old it doesn’t feel nearly as dated as it should. This is probably due to the fact that the film’s themes are still relevant today, non-conformity and adolescent rebellion will always exist and as long as there are people willing to fight against social constraints and oppression this film will have it’s place. Ironically the films violent ending is similar to the current events of today rather than the time the film was made, with events such as the Virginia Tech massacre and the Columbine school shooting becoming more frequent occurrences in modern society.

This film is difficult to define in terms of genre, there are elements of drama, black comedy and surreal humour all coming together in a quirky yet very dark film, a cinematic sweet and sour, if you will.

I enjoyed If…. and found it to be an interesting film to say the least, at first I thought that the film would be more humour based and surreal than it was, in retrospect the film worked very well just as it was and given the choice I would not change it. I would recommend this film to fans of British cinema and anyone who likes their films with a little depth, but if all you want is to be entertained with something nice and simple this film probably isn’t for you.

Chris Ramsden.