Bad Behaviour (TV Mini Series 2023) Poster

(2023)

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5/10
Like a horror movie, but not.
prettymuchalways23 February 2023
It's definitely not horror genre, but it does remind me of a horror movie. It's just a whole series of uncomfortable, painful and awful experiences one after the other. I think if you enjoy watching awful things happen, then you would enjoy this. But if you want something more than that, then you will likely not enjoy this.

Having said that, the cinematography was great and I thought most of the acting was excellent, especially Kavenagh.

I also loved that a gender neutral character was included without making a big deal about it. A conversation between people using them/they super naturally is really lovely and still quite a progressive thing I think. So, I appreciated that.

But as I said, the storyline was just too constantly painful for me to give a higher review.
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7/10
Love / hate
annelisseljubav20 January 2024
I don't think I've ever watched a series where I have hated every single character until this. It's an interesting series but every character (bar the minor ones - friends of main character in today's day) is so bloody toxic in their own way. It makes you question your childhood or at least someone's you know. Bullies, blackmail, torture, homophobia, abuse this has it all.

Every episode makes you want to yell at the telly WHY WOULD YOU DO/SAY THAT!! Some of these actresses are brilliant in other shows but this really leaves you wondering what the person who wrote the story line went through.

Would I recommend? Only if you don't have childhood school trauma.
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Painfully underwritten.
nagikirima4 March 2023
Warning: Spoilers
I really wanted to like this, but it just wasn't very well written. It ultimately felt like they filmed a first draft.

It had the Star Wars prequels problem in that the audience is constantly told what the characters are like, but they're never actually shown being that way. The show is supposedly about Jo going from good girl to bad, but we're never shown how she used to be, or given any real investment into her friendship with Alice before she betrays her to court the favour of the popular girls, so the whole thing just falls flat.

The show can't seem to decide if the school the protagonists attend is extremely strict, or permissive enough to allow its students to yell insults at other girls running cross country while the teachers are present.

These issues really crystallized for me in the scene of (spoiler alert) one of the characters' funerals, wherein one of the main characters talks about how this girl was her best friend and always emotionally supported her, and, like, did we see any of that?! I don't think so.

Also there was a weird strain of vulgarity throughout that I really didn't engage with.

The performances were all great, so I'm looking forward to seeing these actresses appear in something better.
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3/10
Toxic all round
angelarichardson-4468518 February 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Nothing much positive to say about this one. Very weak protagonist so sexually and mentally obsessed with her bully she lets her terrorize herself and her friends to the point of self harm. Her selfish obsession allows the good natured people around her get hurt in the most abhorrent ways. There's no satisfactory justice for all these awful girls in the past nor future. Jo's continued weakness and cowardice throughout the entire time at Silver Creek simply serves as karma for her future failures and fractured relationships. The end tries to show redemption and a positive step forward but feels way too little, too late. She's still forever hung up and in love with her abuser. The only likable character was Alice who's revenge was her success and ability to leave the past behind.
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9/10
Promising Australian Television
u452593318 February 2023
It's fair to say, this is a different direction to the typical Australian Bildungsroman.

The show is incredibly dark, gritty, at times brutally tragic, but clever and overall, unapologetic. Watching it feels like an Australian version of "Euphoria" meets "Yellow Jackets", with similar tones and themes from each. The pace works for the longer episodes, and the dialogue depicts Australian teens well.

The young female cast shine in this. For me, the character of Emma (played by Abbey Morgan) was a standout. The character of Alice was also particularly likeable and found the tormented relationships although sad, genuinely believable. It also allows the audience to think about how they would cope as 15 year olds left in the woods to their own devices just how challenging that environment would be. The setting itself is beautiful, with contrast between the Melbourne city to the stunning Victorian High Country.

It's definitely not going to be for everyone and the warning at the start of each episode is warranted, but overall, a bold new Australian show that is far from the generic with a phenomenal female cast that is sorely needed on our screens.
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3/10
Sloooooow and terribly uninteresting...
NullUnit11 April 2023
I only made it through 2 episodes.. it's slow. EXCEPTIONALLY slow.

The "bad behavior" is simply teenage girls at a boarding school being "mean girls" nothing more. There was nothing really engaging or exciting. Perhaps one needs to have been a bullied teenage girl for this to series to matter. Watching from the outside it's really rather drab and unentertaining.

Acting is sub-par. Dialog delivery is just odd in places.. weird pauses for seemingly "dramatic effect"... a la.. "I .... .... ... have to get going." No one actually speaks like that. Overall the entire series feels like it was written, directed, filmed and acted by individuals who were half-asleep and lacked ANY type of real-world vigor or "life".

After nearly two episodes the story is still rather unclear. There doesn't appear to be a direct cohesive storyline. It's merely a collection of events strung together. And the primary focus, oddly, seems to be sexual fluidity overall. It's not outspoken or prominent. But that really seems to be the only "unique" aspect here. As if a series of rather standard events are made more interesting by non-gender-normative characters - they aren't. People, regardless of any gender fluidity, are still people - and the events are still pretty much the same.

I watched 50% of this and could not, for the life of me, see why it warranted watching the remaining 50%.
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8/10
Highly convincing portrayal of unhealthy relationships
vejb-5510923 February 2023
As others have pointed out, this brief series is not particularly joyful and so, if you think you might struggle to watch kids and adults bullying each other, then Bad Behaviour might be better avoided. However, for me, it was the powerfully credible depiction of the suffering endured by characters in the show that made it worth watching. I felt that it accurately conveyed the struggles of teenage years and the dark plot was engaging without being gratuitously disturbing.

The cast performed with great sensitivity and the use of the same actors across both timelines was seamlessly executed. This highly convincing duality of character portrayal was perhaps the most impressive aspect of the series.

Once again, Australian television delivers a distinctive series that focuses on complex themes, stunning scenery and excellent acting, without stringing the viewer along unnecessarily.
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4/10
no spoils
kisambaisrael8 September 2023
Wasn't so nice ,but great performance for the acters ,even though the story wasnt really well, i dont know for others but i didn't like how its end. With this kind of scenario, stories, that ending should have really be different but anyway something great to watch if you are bored. That why i gave four stars this show would have been really great if they had just worked a bit that story. Any love story must always end well on a movie i think, if not so what's the point? It's a movie or a tv series is not real life and fans or people really love happy ending especially when you make a deep connection with the characters.
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1/10
without compared to those who were truly a victim of bullying
fabiofrost16 February 2024
Completely useless TV wanted to put a different protagonist from the usual hoping to capture some attention but reality and that we don't care any of such a stupid protagonist, the TV series is very bad, and the theme of bullying cannot be Treated so trivial and stupidly is not a game, it must be faced seriously out of respect for those who really lived bullying so I absolutely do not recommend this TV series, absolutely rejected TV series, it is also very badly written, written only to irritate it Spectator, the thing that makes the TV series even more ridiculous and how these girls meet again after years as if nothing had happened, meaningless science fiction, in the end it will have been only a waste of time.
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8/10
Painful and beautiful
contactsammartin23 February 2023
This show made me feel very nostalgic about my own experiences as a teenager, but I loved being able to see multiple perspectives and.. just experiencing it from an outside source. It was pretty raw for me even 15 years on, so a warning is warranted for those for whom it is still fresh.

I would definitely recommend the series for those who have encountered similar things as well as those who haven't - it's generally well produced and impressive overall.

I can't say I'm happy from watching it all, but I feel that it was valuable content.

To those who are experiencing it now.. it shall pass. Xx.
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10/10
Spectacular!
jbccdy25 February 2023
Where to begin?! This is one of those series where it's hard to accurately pinpoint the directors intent but what it does capture, it captures brilliantly enough to warrant praise from my perspective. Often have I bared witness to the abundance of missed opportunities in capturing such a unique dynamic between two symbiotic protagonists who simply cannot exist without, nor with one another. A subtle but constant awareness, a duel, a dare to test the limits and determine just how far they are willing to go to complete and challenge fate itself. Nothing else can exist in their presence given the picture would be otherwise incomplete.

I've read several reviews throwing the word "toxic" around but i'd argue this is only applicable to Jo and her so called friends of whom she'd easily discard for her other half. The series tackles this with her constant need to apologize (for being toxic) despite the fact that its been years and everyone else but them has moved on, explaining the constant flashbacks; a yearning to close a chapter that she may move on.

Thats my take currently as theres currently only four episodes . I dare say perhaps i'm reading into it too much and simply experiencing what the director left open to interpretation based on my own desires but who knows really. Let this review serve as a reminder that whilst currently I am absolutely in love with this series, my prediction is for my opinion to rapidly decline as we progress from EP:4 onwards given its unique nature and humanities (modern writers especially) constant desire to warrant destruction over anything so beautiful and fragile, its flaws must be exposed and laid bare for us to trample our feet upon.. that it may never be beautiful again.

I'm pondering concluding the series here and never picking up the book as I have no desire for tragic endings despite my high praise for the story and its unfolding so far... time will tell.
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8/10
You can't run from the past
philhayes8012 March 2023
I remember seeing the ads for this and thinking "wow this could be bad." but I watched it all in one sitting and it ended up being really good? That was the surprising thing. It was just daring to be different and daring to change the normal of just a 'school drama', the director and cast did a fantastic job at bringing this to life, congrats.

What this shows is that you can never really hide from the past and make sure the future looks safe when its not and unfortunately while everyone else let go of the past Jo couldn't. Jo is the epitome of 'can't let go' and it really shows when she meets the people from her past who have let go their previous lives at the school.

You can run from the past but you cannot hide from it.
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9/10
Physically uncomfortable
geiserraphael-7110511 September 2023
I think most negative reviews stem from the fact that the protagonist is one of the most despicable human beings ever to grace a tv screen.

Every second is pure agony to watch. These girls are mean, they are weak and spoiled.

The fact that this show makes me feel all this hate and dismay clearly shows how well the characters are portrayed and acted.

Sadly it makes the show almost unwatchable.

If you like "Yellowjackets" or the much more obscure "Ondskan", here you can "enjoy" similar feelings, but a lot less watered down, and for hours on end.

I did not like watching this. But I respect the artistry. 8.5/10.
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