Four out of
Five stars
Running time:
93 mins
Engaging and occasionally disturbing Belgian drama with strong performances and a thought-provoking script that delivers an important message.
What's it all about?
(Very) loosely based on a true story, Ben X stars Greg Timmermans as Ben, an autistic teenager who's constantly teased and bullied at school. Since neither his divorced parents (Marijke Pinoy and Pol Goossen) nor his teachers seem capable of helping him, Ben retreats into the world of virtual videogame Archlord (think World of Warcraft), where he's an all-conquering hero with a loyal female sidekick named Scarlite (Laura Verlinden).
However, when Scarlite announces that she wants to meet Ben in real life, he feels that his life might finally be about to change. Unfortunately, the school's most vicious bullies (Titus De Voogdt and Maarten Claeyssens) seem determined to make Ben's life a living hell.
The Good
Writer-director Nic Balthazar expertly builds tension, firstly by letting us see just how much the violence of Ben's fantasy world is invading his real life and secondly by including a framing device of documentary-style to-camera interviews that indicate that something bad is going to happen. This works extremely well and you're constantly dreading the worst, though the film has several surprises up its sleeve.
Timmermans is superb as Ben and there's strong support from Verlinden as Scarlite, while De Voogdt and Claeyssens make all too convincing bullies. In addition, Balthazar's thought-provoking script addresses a number of disturbing issues that are all too topical, without resorting to sentimentality or overblown melodramatics.
The Bad
The only problem with the film is that the documentary device doesn't quite work, especially when set against the rest of the film, which is largely from Ben's warped perspective. Similarly, one of the twists is a little too guessable, which detracts from some of the suspense.
Worth seeing?
In short, Ben X is a well made, superbly acted drama with an emotionally engaging script and an important message. Recommended.