The Hater

The Hater (Polish: Sala samobójców: Hejter) is a 2020 Polish thriller drama film directed by Jan Komasa and written by Mateusz Pacewicz. The plot centres around an expelled university student from Warsaw who attempts to steer the internet, causing widespread hatred and violence. It premiered on 6 March 2020 in Poland and went on to win the Best International Narrative Feature Award at Tribeca Film Festival.[4][5]

The Hater
Film poster
PolishSala samobójców: Hejter
Directed byJan Komasa
Screenplay byMateusz Pacewicz
Based onSuicide Room, by Jan Komasa
Starring
Music byMichał Jacaszek
Edited byAleksandra Gowin
Production
companies
Naima Film
Distributed byKino Świat
Release date
  • 6 March 2020 (2020-03-06) (Poland)
Running time
135 minutes[1][2][3]
CountryPoland
LanguagePolish
Box office$1.3 million[1]

Whilst fictional, the film does relate to ongoing real-life situations such as the use of social media to psychologically manipulate users and navigate public opinion through fake news. It is a representation of how online-propelled hatred can lead to severe consequences and real-life casualties. Three weeks after the filming was completed, Paweł Adamowicz, city mayor of Gdańsk and a liberal politician frequently targeted by online haters, was stabbed to death during a live broadcast charity event.[6]

Plot

Tomasz Giemza, a disgraced law student obsessed with the progressive, upper-class Krasucki family takes a job at a public relations company. What seemed like just another assignment turns out to be a quickly developing troll farm, where he excels in the business of spreading fake news and online hatred targeting famous personalities, internet celebrities and politicians. With time, Tomasz begins to use his newly acquired skills in order to stalk, harass and ultimately control the Krasuckis.

Cast
  • Maciej Musiałowski as Tomasz Giemza
  • Vanessa Aleksander as Gabriela 'Gabi' Krasucka
  • Agata Kulesza as Beata Santorska
  • Danuta Stenka as Zofia Krasucka
  • Jacek Koman as Robert Krasucki
  • Maciej Stuhr as Paweł Rudnicki
  • Adam Gradowski as Stefan 'Guzek' Guzkowski
  • Jedrzej Wielecki as Staszek Rydel

Production

Principal photography began on 28 October 2018 and ended on 22 December.[7] It was primarily filmed in Warsaw and surrounding areas.[7]

The Hater is considered a sequel or a spin-off to Komasa's previous 2011 film Suicide Room.

Assassination of Paweł Adamowicz
Main article: Assassination of Paweł Adamowicz

On 13 January 2019, Paweł Adamowicz, the liberal mayor of Gdańsk in northern Poland, was stabbed in the heart while speaking on stage at the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity event. He was taken to Gdańsk University Clinical Centre in critical condition, where he underwent five-hour long surgery. He died the following day. The detained killer was a 27-year-old man who was a vehement critic of the liberal and democratic Civic Platform party, of which Adamowicz was a member. The police confirmed he was widely active on social media.

The film drew remarkable and unexpected parallels with the attack on Adamowicz. Similarly to the fictional character Rudnicki, Paweł Adamowicz was a long-time target of an overwhelming hate speech campaign fueled by politicians deriving from far-right and nationalist circles.[8][6]

Release

The Hater premiered on 6 March 2020 in Poland[7][1][3] but, a few days after its release, cinemas and movie theaters were closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[9] It was distributed worldwide in streaming by Netflix on 29 July 2020.[2]

Reception

Critical response

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 75% based on 16 reviews with an average rating of 6.92/10.[2] On Metacritic, it holds a weighted average score of 61 out of 100, based on 5 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[10] Ola Salwa on Cineuropa stated "The Hater is a thrilling tale of an anti-hero and of the survival of the fittest, which in this case means those who have a strong and agile thumb and index finger".[9] Brian Tallerico from RogerEbert.com praised the film's interesting moral narrative.[11] Variety positively reviewed the plot, stating that it "effectively integrates concerns about how easily people are manipulated".[12]

Awards

The Hater premiered at Tribeca Film Festival in the International Narrative Competition and won Best International Narrative Feature award. The jury comprised film professionals among whom were Danny Boyle and William Hurt.[4]

gollark: Unlike stupid Lûa which only hæs “tables‘.
gollark: Well, it's more of an issue of "you only have arrays and string->any maps for collections".
gollark: That makes no sense and is Lua-specific.
gollark: Stupid conflation of maps and arrays...
gollark: It seems to be because you had negative keys or something.

References
  1. "The Hater (2020)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  2. "The Hater (Hejter) (2020)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
  3. "Sala samobójców. Hejter (2020) - Financial Information". The Numbers. Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  4. Moreau, Jordan (29 April 2020). "'The Half of It,' Steve Zahn, Assol Abdullina Win Awards at 2020 Tribeca Film Festival". Variety. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
  5. "The Hater | 2020 Tribeca Film Festival". Tribeca Film Festival. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  6. Macnab, Geoffrey (5 October 2019). "Poland's Jan Komasa sets English-language horror 'Sara' as next film (exclusive)". Screen Daily. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  7. (in Polish) "Sala samobójców. Hejter". Filmpolski.pl. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  8. Buras, Piotr (17 January 2019). "The killing of Gdańsk's mayor is the tragic result of hate speech". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  9. Salwa, Ola. "Review: The Hater". Cineuropa. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
  10. "The Hater Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  11. Tallerico, Brian (29 July 2020). "Reviews - The Hater". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  12. Debruge, Peter (14 July 2020). "'The Hater' on Netflix: Film Review". Variety. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
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