The Plague Movie Preview

“The Plague” is a deep dive into a pool of peer pressure and emotional pain. The young boys at a summer swim camp are left with minimal supervision. This allows the bully group leader to punish others with fear of exclusion and force the ‘new kid’ to choose a side.

In the summer of 2003, a young 12-year-old boy is sent to a water polo/swimming camp. This is Ben (played by Everett Blunck), who is a newcomer to this camp. Other kids, all about the same age, have been to this camp before. This includes Eli (played by Kenny Rasmussen), a slightly odd kid who is socially awkward. Eli also has a skin condition that seems like a very bad rash.

The other kids in the program are led by a boy named Jake (played by Kayo Martin). He has been in this swim program before. He tells the other boys in the group that they must stick together. They must all avoid Eli – because that odd boy suffers from ‘The Plague’. Never mind that it is a skin rash that any of them could suffer from.

Eli is singled out for abuse and derision. Ben finds this appalling. He tries to step in and support Eli, and protect him from the verbal and physical attacks. But Jake carries a lot of weight with the other boys. They start making fun of Ben, also.

The adult who is in charge, the Swim Coach (played by Joel Edgerton), seems to not notice anything that could be wrong. He is not aware of the cruel treatment of Eli. He is not capable of doing anything to stop the group bullying that is going on. He turns a blind eye.

Ben is very torn between doing something to help Eli, and instead sits it out on the sidelines. He does not want to be bullied the same way as they other kids are doing to Eli. Ben is not sure what he could do to end any of this bad behavior.

Is it a toxic environment of the swim camp that brought this about? Is it the emphasis on physical workouts in the water, the lack of any parental influence, or even the camp adult leadership? There are some strict guidelines, but none of these deal with how the students treat one another.

Ben continues to attempt to stay above the fray, and not get drawn into the deep pool of resentment and ridicule. It is an ongoing problem, and it keeps getting worse. Eli has continued to be harassed and even physically abused. If Ben steps in to try and stop — then the heat would come down on him. Jake, and all of bully buddies, would have two victims to hassle.

There is no help from the Swim Coach. Ben feels there is something terrible about to happen. Because Jake started the whole mess by insisting that Eli suffered from “The Plague”, anyone near to Eli would also be ‘infected’.

Things are bad for Eli, and Ben becomes numb to watch the abuse. Jake and other boys are able to do worse things to Eli, without any retribution. Only one day – Eli is no longer at the camp. Nobody knows for sure what happened, and the Swim Coach will not tell anyone. Did he leave to go home? Was “The Plague” for real, and did Eli succumb to those nasty rashes?

Ben is afraid and unsure about what he should do. He wanted to be helpful, but he turned his back on Eli. Is Ben no better than any of the boys who had abused Eli for those two weeks? Was there really any “Plague” at all? Or was the ‘plague’ the toxic bullying environment that they lived in?

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“The Plague” is a powerful examination of how peer pressure can be a terrible force that can be used to exclude and ostracize anyone considered ‘other’. It portrays this is a setting of young boys at a swim camp. But the lessons could be applied anywhere.

“The Plague” was nominated for awards at the Cannes Film Festival (and won an award). This movie also wound up winning awards at Calgary International Film Fest, Deauville American Film Festival, Denver Film Festival, Fantastic Fest, Sitges Film Festival, and the Woodstock Film Festival. It has 100% rating on the Rotten Tomatoes site.

NOTE: I was not able to view this screening in the ample time that was allowed. This is my fault, and I still feel that this movie has a lot of value for anyone who wants to see these performances. This will be labeled as a ‘Movie Preview’ (as opposed to a ‘Movie Review’). This is a very solid first film by the Writer/Director Charlie Polinger.

“The Plague” is study of how bullying can become a vicious force that can ruin lives of some young boys at a summer swim camp. It is not afraid to get into the deep end of that pool.