Afterschool

Robert (Ezra Miller), an Internet-obsessed sophomore at an elite prep school, is working on a video assignment when he witnesses two older girls violently overdosing (he knows—but won't reveal—who supplied the poisonous drug that killed the young women). Afterward, Robert becomes the unlikely choice to put together a “memorial video” on the school's behalf. If that sounds like a recipe for a grim, somewhat repellent film, welcome to Afterschool, from young writer-director Antonio Campos, who one critic compared to Stanley Kubrick and Gus Van Sant. Campos certainly does have a distinctive, if mannered, visual approach, favoring long static shots (with most of the action in the background); drab, unflattering lighting; and scenes with characters only partially in the frame (the almost total absence of music contributes to the deliberately amateurish feel). But all the style in the world can't obscure the fact that there's not much of a story here and the characters are unappealing. Robert is taciturn and unresponsive to the point of paralysis; his classmates are cheaters and bullies who apparently think that caring about anything whatsoever is uncool; and the grownups, from parents to teachers and administrators, are mostly patronizing, self-righteous, and smarmy. Optional. (S. Graham)