The Chocolate War

Plot synopsis:
Jerry Renault is a freshman attending an all-boys Catholic high school called Trinity, while coping with depressive feelings and existential questions that stem largely from his mother's recent death and his father's enduring grief. Jerry is quickly recruited onto Trinity's football team, where he meets "The Goober," a fellow freshman and instant friend.
Trinity's vice-principal, Brother Leon, has recently become acting headmaster and overextends his rising ambition by committing Trinity to selling double the previous year's amount of chocolates during an annual fundraising event, quietly enlisting the support of Archie Costello, the genesis and leader behind The Vigils: the school's cruelly manipulative secret society of student pranksters.
Archie arrogantly plans to alternate between betraying and supporting Leon in a frenzied series of power plays. His first "assignment" is to incite Jerry to refuse to sell any chocolate for ten days. However, Jerry, inspired after reading a quotation inside his locker: "Do I dare disturb the universe?" from T. S. Eliot's "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock," feels strangely determined to sell nothing even after the ten days have passed, thus estranging himself from both Leon and The Vigils.
At first, Jerry's refusal to cooperate with the corrupt school culture and fundraiser is seen by many classmates as heroic, but the gesture threatens Brother Leon and The Vigils' ability to coerce the student population. Leon presses Archie to put The Vigils' full force behind the chocolate sales and so they set up Jerry as an enemy for the rest of the student body to harass through bullying, prank calls, and vandalism. Only The Goober remains Jerry's friend but does little to protect him. Ultimately, Archie enlists the school bully Emile Janza to beat up Jerry just outside the school, but, even in the aftermath, Jerry maintains his defiant nonconformity.
Finally, Archie concocts a showdown: a boxing match at night between Jerry and Emile. On the football field, the match is watched by all students, who can select which blows will be laid during the fight through a randomized lottery system; however, the fight ends when a teacher shuts down the electrical power on the field, and Jerry is brutally injured in the ensuing darkness. Half-conscious, he tells The Goober that there was no way to win and he should have just complied, conceding that it is best, after all, not to "disturb the universe." Though Archie is apprehended as the mastermind of the fight, Brother Leon intervenes on his behalf and privately praises his efforts in the unprecedented success of the chocolate sales. Leon implies that next year, if he is officially made the new headmaster, he will work to preserve Archie's power.

Tags: psychedelic, prank, cruelty, flashback

Review:
Our young protagonist, Renault, still agonizing over the death of his mother, is given a right-of-passage style task by his school's secret society, run by the calculating and elagantly power-hungry Archie : To refuse to sell chocolates to boost school income for 10 days (an activity Brother Leon, the equally power-hungry John Glover, is pushing on the students with unexpected zeal).
Both Archie and Brother Leon then use every method in their power to keep this rebel without a cause from toppeling them from power.Simple enough, but this, as I said, is not a simple film about fighting the powers that be.
Light touches of humor (including a brief but spot-on perfect cameo by "Harold and Maude"'s Bud Cort) reinforce this classification and keep the proceedings from ever becoming bogged down in their gloominess.All in all, though, The Chocolate War is a very dark, slightly surreal tale of the emptiness of life, for winners or losers.
good film, great book.
As a movie, THE CHOCOLATE WAR is good, but doesn't do justice to the book.
While the film does wimp out on the original ending, it does a great job of conveying the bleak landscape of the adolescent mind and the dreary banality of high school life.
One of those five is Kieth Gordon's, The Chocolate War.Actually, I found myself watching this film when searching out titles starring Ilan Mitchell Smith who portrays Wyatt Donnelly in Weird Science.
The acting headmaster, played the very excellent John Glover, decides that because the school is running out of money, they will hold a chocolate sale to boost the revenues.
Filmed on what looked like the dreariest days in Washington state, this is a very gloomy movie, but nonetheless presents a powerful psychological study of what people will do under pressure when alone or when in groups.
My perspective on this film is likely to be unique, in that I've never read the book.
The critical reception and most user reviews widely criticize Keith Gordon's re-writing of the book's ending and this was ultimately reflected in its shocking performance at the box office.
If you've never read the book, you can effectively ignore all criticism, because The Chocolate War is arguably one of the finest films to explore the dark underbelly of teenage cruelty, manipulation and the childhood induction of the mob mentality and a superb directorial debut for Keith.John Glover's performance as the twisted and politically carnivorous Brother Leon is stunning and easily his best work.
With echoes of Lord of the Flies, The Chocolate War explores the outer reaches of cruelty, fear and control exercised by the two antagonistic forces of the student led secret society The Vigils, and the school's acting school head - Brother Leon.
But the revelation is the haunting piano of "Shepherd's Song" by Scott Cossu, which holds the space for Jerry's introspection, his loss and the tragedy of his situation.Yes, there are some elements lacking in this film - namely the performance of the hero (Jerry) played by Ilan Mitchell-Smith and some of the dated directorial techniques adopted by Keith Gordon for the flashback sequences and other scenes.
Keep in mind this was Gordon's feature film directorial debut.I'm not going to comment on the ending, other than to say it works perfectly for the narrative of this film and is in no way disappointing.
Dark, strange, slightly amateurish yet oddly compelling, "The Chocolate War" is an excellent antidote to the happy-go-lucky teen films made popular by John Hughes in the 1980's.
Based on the popular book by Robert Cormier, the story concerns Jerry Renault (Ilan Mitchell-Smith, "Weird Science"), a bright but sad young man coping with his mother's untimely death (which has also turned his father cold and distant).
Jerry is a student a prep school known as Trinity, where he clashes with a sadistic "secret fraternity" known as the Vigils and the oh-so-slightly-mad acting headmaster Brother Leon (played to perfection by John Glover).
At first by order of the Vigils, and then on his own, Jerry refuses to participate in the annual fund-raising chocolate sale, which not only angers Brother Leon but also causes an assortment of other problems.
Yes, this is a rather simplistic summary, but going into great detail will not only take a lot of time but will also spoil the viewing experience."The Chocolate War" is the directorial debut of actor Keith Gordon ("Christine," "Back to School"), who also wrote the screenplay.
The film is a fairly faithful adaptation of Cormier's novel, but the ending is changed significantly.
Fans of the book argue that Gordon's ending for the film is too "tidy" or "happy," but in it's own way the film ends on a rather despairing note, with no easy answers or solutions.
Obviously filmed on a shoestring budget, "The Chocolate War" still boasts wonderful performances by its young cast.
Wally Ward (better known today as Wallace Langham of "Veronica's Closet") is very good as the Vigils' evil "assigner" Archie, and Bud Cort ("Harold and Maude") has a funny cameo as another teacher.
Sometimes the pacing is slow, and sometimes the director attempts to be a little too "artistic" in his style; the film also suffers from a soundtrack that was dated even when the movie was made (the music comes from such new-wave dinosaurs as Yaz and Kate Bush).
Though it has been said that the film was not as good as the actual book, I think the adaption made its point and the lesson was learned.
The Chocolate War is a movie about a young kid named Jerry and his power struggle with the group at school called the Vigils.
I really enjoyed this movie and I thought that Wallace Langham gave a great performance as Archie.
This movie actually surpasses the original novel, because of amazing performances by John Glover (Smallville) as Brother Leon and Wallace Langham (Veronica's Closet) as Archie Costello.
While typically labeled an 80's "Coming of Age" film, this is not a feel good teen movie like "Dead Poet's Society" or "The Breakfast Club."  This is a dark story about human cruelty and manipulation, no more "Coming of Age" than "Donny Darko."Director/screenwriter Keith Gordon attempted to moralize the ending...a mistake from an artistic standpoint, but probably wise, considering the audience (American public).
This comically dark but heartfelt adaptation of the novel of rebellion is like Dead Poets Society without the "poor me" ending.
The soundtrack (Peter Gabriel/ Yaz/ Kate Bush) eclipses any John Hughes movie collection and lifts some scenes that are a little rough around the edges, budgetarily-speaking (this was a real, pre-Sundance indie film).
Sure this film doesn't compare to the classic Cormier book but, as it is, it's not a bad film about the abuse of power and the evils of conformity.
I think the reason why the producers chose to change the ending is because, face it, the book made everything so hideously, slash-your-wrists-depressing (like all of Cormier's other books) that I don't think anyone would want to see it!Despite the changed ending, director/adapter Keith Gordon manages to make the message clear.
While this is a low-budget film with obvious limitations (the school looks like it has a total of 100 students at best), Gordon never lets the film drag and he got good performances from the actors (particularly from John Glover who steals the show as the evil headmaster and Bud "Harold and Maude" Cort in a great cameo as one of the priests).
This is a textbook example of how NOT to adapt a book to the screen.Teenager Jerry Renault in high school is having a terrible life.
It was also shot with a wobbly camera which made me sea sick and (for some reason) Jerry has acne and nobody else does (?????) And, worst of all, they totally changed the ending which completely destroyed the point of the book!
The ending is just hopeless--I'd love to know what they thought of when they dreamed it up.The book is powerful, grim stuff and NOT for kids.
Growing up in high school, our year 10 teacher assigned us to read this book as part of our education.We also got to (occassionally) watch the movie adaptation of the novel.I really liked this film as the storyline was good.The Vigils are a secret gang in an all boys school who assign tasks to students as part of their way of saying " we will not conform to the standards others set, so we go our own way." Then Jerry Renault is selected for a task of not to sell chocolates for a set period of time.After the time elapses, Jerry still stops selling chocolates and becomes a sort of hero, as he is overcoming adversity and going beyond his boundaries.If Forrest Gump was around, maybe Jerry could have sold his portion to Forrest and Forrest could have given them away to people as he told stories to strangers on a park bench somewhere.Look out for an appearance of a young Brendan Fraser (before he was in Encino Man, or The Mummy).Its an educational film and should be viewed in all schools as part of the learning curriculum..
A great film of what a strict catholic high school could be like!Great acting but i leave it down to the cast who put in a great performance!
Keith Gordon ("Dressed to Kill," "Christine," "Back to School") made his directorial debut with this adaptation of Robert Cormier's 1974 classic young-adult novel.
Gordon gets a lot of things right, but he tacks on an unnecessary happy ending that utterly eradicates Cormier's point.
Trinity is holding its annual chocolate sale; Jerry refuses to participate, first on the orders of the Vigils (Trinity's secret student society), then of his own free will.
The Vigils' "assigner," Archie Costello (Wally Ward), joins forces with the wormy Brother Leon (John Glover) to force Jerry to sell the chocolates.Gordon takes most of the events right from the book, so he catches the intricate power games between Archie and Leon, between Archie and his right-hand man Obie (a pre-"X-Files," pre-"Green Mile" Doug Hutchison), and between Archie and the Vigils' president Carter (Adam Baldwin, too old for his role).
Trying for something more commercial than Cormier's original downbeat material (it didn't work anyway - the movie barely got released), Gordon sexes the movie up by casting Jenny Wright as a hippie who taunts Jerry at the bus stop.
Gordon went on to direct the better movies "A Midnight Clear" and "Mother Night" as well as "Waking the Dead." Interestingly, all his movies are based on books by young-adult-novel favorites (Cormier, Kurt Vonnegut, William Wharton, Scott Spencer)..
I use this film with high school sophomores while we read the Robert Cormier novel.
I wouldn't run out and rent it unless you can't find your pirated cassette of Yaz's Upstairs at Eric.The Chocolate War is yet another coming of age novel set in a boys preparatory school, this time in a rather lower-middle class Catholic school called Trinity.
Clearly, the confrontation in the book and the film is between Jerry and the Vigils (specifically Archie).Power and non-conformity are the themes of both the book and the movie.
If you don't want to read the book, this movie can almost get you through, but there are some changes, including a rather substantial revision of the ending (high schoolers beware).Don't rent it unless you're in the market for video Cliff's Notes..
At the Trinity all-boys Catholic high school, there is a secret society of Seniors called the Vigils that like to hand out special assignments to the other students.
the ending of the book was changed in the movie to make it nice and sweet and happily ever after.
the actors were bad also, the boy portraying archie costello, the main character, made archie seem like a homosexual, which he isnt in the book.
I'd read the book the Chocolate War not a week before I found out there was a movie version of it.
Thinking about the end churns my stomach, but the rest of it is so good you can get over it.If you haven't read the book the whole thing will probably seem pretty good, but if you have - well, watch the movie, most certainly, but if you don't think you can stomach Cormier's meaning get ripped out .
If you like Robert Cormier, you're better off reading his books, but  otherwise this is an OK movie..
And that's all within the setting of a chocolate fund raiser.Some reviewers have criticized the ending because it's not faithful to the book, and fair enough.
That's what Jerry Renault (Ilan Mitchell-Smith) did when he beat up Archie Costello (Wallace "CSI" Langham) in the boxing ring.The soundtrack is haunting and it was never released commercially, but you can get the songs from other sources.The acting is top notch and given the small budget (I think only $170,000), Keith Gordon did a masterful job directing this feature..
The movie made the book look terrible because The man who played Archie did not show the evil side and Brother Leon was not as good as he was portrayed in the book.
Because the ending in the book is how life is sometimes and it really showed how a Catholic school can turn.
I liked the original Ending better than the movie's ending because Archie showed how he really was.
Before the fight scene, I'd thought that this film version of a great novel, up there with with Lord of the Flies in my opinion, was one of the best I'd ever seen.
Considering the powerful and harshly real novel by Robert Cormier, this Keith Gordon film falls short of the mark.
There are some good performances, but I felt Glover was miscast as Brother Leon.The film does a good job siding us against Archie and for Jerome, but I did not feel this was necessary.
Archie is not the only, and hardly the worst, villain.The ending, which does not comply with that of Cormier's novel, defeats the whole purpose of the story.
Based on a novel by the late Robert Cormier, the film paints a fairly dark picture of humanity in general and emphasises the dangers of mob rule through the vehicle of a chocolate sale in a Catholic High School of all things.
I had no idea what the film was about but I didn't think "chocolate war" was literal.
I rarely write reviews here, but I had to put in a good word for The Chocolate War when I saw so few positive comments on the film.
When a school chocolate sale becomes the focus of the Vigils and the staff, Jerry takes a seemingly futile stand against conformity that sets off many ramifications...The main things to praise about the adaptation are the acting by the various (mostly quite young) participants, and the tight script, which maintains a remarkable fidelity to the structure of Cormier's novel.MAJOR SPOILER!!!There has been much controversy concerning the ending to the movie, which is of the surface quite different from the novel.
The point being that even if Jerry 'wins' the climactic fight, he has still really lost, because he has doomed himself by being a participant in a contest not of his making.Worth a look, but if you're studying the book at school, you'll need to read it as well..
But in "The Chocolate War", the ending is completely changed, and Cormier's point is totally lost.
Jerry Renault is hounded by his classmates (especially "The Vigils", the secret society at school) and pressured by his teachers.
But he refuses to back down.Throughout most of the film, Keith Gordon is true to Cormier's vision.
Gordon gives us your standard "feel good, everything's okay" Hollywood ending.
That's what happened in Cormier's book, and while it wasn't a wonderful happy ending, it MEANT SOMETHING.
I saw the film Rushmore before the Chocolate War and found many similarities in Max and Archie's characters-their ability to control other people and to get themselves involved in everything going on at their respective schools.
Compared to Archie, Renault is a rather pale and pathetic little hero, but he doesn't really win in the end anyway.
As I haven't read the novel, I thought the film's ending still illustrated the Vigils' manipulative powers extremely well.
I'm sure the book is better, but I think the movie is quite good in its own right..
This movie followed every little detail it could, and I found myself smiling and waiting for the brutal conclusion.--Spoiler-- Like the majority consensus, the ending rattled me.Now, let me first say the ending is moderate for someone who has not read the book.
Archie is a simp, he can't fight, but he's also so much a simp that he can't take one blow.This part of the movie negates everything Archie had come to be throughout he film, and novel.And then, he is demoted for losing his head.Now, if that weren't bad enough, it seems that Brother Leon and Janza were so *proud* of Jerry for beating the crap out of Archie.
I had read the book and loved it, so was interested to see whether the film version would live up to the novel.
For the most part, it was pretty good, but I was disappointed that the ending had been changed significantly from the book.
The film's conclusion, in my opinion, lacks the punch of the original and wimps out by giving Jerry a happier (if not exactly happy) ending.
It's not so much that the film gives the good guy a happy ending, although it does leave him infinitely better off than the novel, but that it gives the bad guy the punishment he deserves.
I read it way back in high school, but they wouldn't show us the movie.
When I went out on my own and rented the movie, I could see why.::spoilers ahead::Now, the meaning of the whole book all boils down to the ending.