The Devil Is in Me, playing at BFI London Film Festival, is an entertaining, energetic and beautifully framed exploration of how, when it comes to teenagers, the past and present have far more in common than we think.
No one really likes change. In truth, humans are change-averse in so many ways; for example, moving a coffee machine in an office kitchen can spark more debate than letting an unhinged blob lead one of the world’s most powerful nations! Yet, for all our kickback, change is necessary for progress, even if you’re not keen on it. For fifteen-year-old Rose (Bella Salisbury), that change is something called ‘education’, and she’s not having any of it, in Tia Salisbury’s delightfully entertaining and wickedly sharp short film The Devil Is in Me.
The year is 1861, and in a small parish in rural England, a young Reverend Perry (Brad Morrison) has recently arrived with a new enthusiasm for education, nine years before England would introduce its first-ever Education Act. Perry is determined to ensure all the children and teenagers in the village learn to read and write, believing it is the key to their future success, and many are enthusiastic about the new Sunday School arrangements. But one, Rose, would far rather race pigs in the local fields, and she has landed on the perfect excuse to escape Perry’s insistence on learning: Possession.
As she enters the small chapel to assist Reverend Perry in setting up the slates and books for the weekly educational torture, she informs him that she has the devil inside of her, and that due to this, it’s problematic for her to be in the church, and frankly irresponsible for him to have her in his presence. She has even provided a host of unhinged evidence to back her claim. Perry calmly sets his rock-hard cake aside (his wife bakes them solely to shatter teeth) and chooses not to engage with Rose’s delusions, but instead attempts to persuade her of the benefits her education will bring. But is Rose listening? Or, like most teenagers, past and present, has she already made up her mind?
Tia Salisbury’s comedy short explores an eternal truth about education: some kids simply don’t like it! And the more you tell them about its benefits, the more they try to escape it. Rose has already made up her mind about the potential benefits of reading and writing, and pig racing is far more appealing to her. While this short story may be set in 1861, the themes are just as relevant to teachers today as they were to the Methodist ministers who strove to bring education to the masses. Of course, excuses may differ today; I would be surprised if any modern kid used possession as an excuse to get out of lessons (teachers, please correct me if I am wrong!), but the premise of this delightfully funny short remains timeless.
Bella Salisbury and Brad Morrison hold everything together, giving the short wonderful energy as Rose’s evidence of possession is laid before Perry and he begins to wonder whether his patience does indeed have a limit. Shot on location at the Church of St Bartholomew in Ubley, with a cast and production crew that included local talent, The Devil Is in Me is an entertaining, energetic and beautifully framed exploration of how the past and present have more in common than we think, and a reminder that long before the term ‘teenager’ even existed, youthful rebellion and a desire to stick two fingers up at older generations were very much a part of all young people’s DNA.
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