Poison Friends
I didn't want to be inside a dark, humid movie theater on Sunday afternoon when Poison Friends (Les Amitiés Maléfiques) began and I didn't start feeling better about my decision as a familiar character from my own life showed up on the screen
I'm sure we all know someone like André Morney, a charismatic, brilliant peer who, at a vulnerable time in our lives, shamed us into letting him take the lead. If you don't know anyone like Morney, maybe you are he.
Poison Friends follows Morney as he wins over a group of classmates by dominating discussions and shaming them with commanding advice. He loathes creative writing, insisting that so few people have anything to write about. When some in the circle pursue the art, he harshly turns on them, spinning lies and insulting them to their faces. Mysteriously, they remain dedicated to him and continue to try and win his favor, leading many in the audience to question their common sense.
But guys like Morney are everywhere, not just in academia, shaming us into questioning our ability and opinions through sheer force of personality.
