The use of juxtaposition in ‘Wild Child’ (2008)
Opening in sunny Malibu, California, Wild Child introduces us to Poppy Moore (Emma Roberts): blonde, bratty, and bold, she is the embodiment of the entitled, wealthy, American teenage girl. When she takes her bad behaviour too far after her dad Gerry’s (Aidan Quinn) new girlfriend moves in, he finally follows through on his long-time threat of sending Poppy to Abbey Mount boarding school in England. One reason for Poppy’s behaviour is unprocessed grief, her mother having passed away in a car accident when Poppy was only 11 years old. Poppy also has a younger sister called Molly (Lexi Ainsworth) who she is like a parent to, suggesting that their father is quite absent.
The film, written by Lucy Dahl (Roald Dahl’s daughter) and directed by Nick Moore, juxtaposes America and England exceptionally well throughout the film. Americans like Poppy seem brash and entitled, while Brits are generally more reserve and polite, though perhaps less accepting of other people’s bullshit. Brits can be cold and abrupt, of course. When Poppy meets head girl Harriet (Georgia King, Tanner Hall), she informs Poppy that Americans rank somewhere below vermin on the school’s social ladder.
The friends Poppy makes — Kate (Kimberley Nixon, Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging), Drippy (Juno Temple, St. Trinian’s, Ted Lasso), Josie (Linzey Cocker), and Kiki (Sophie Wu) — generally do what they’re expected to, while Poppy struggles to follow the rules due to having had a lot of freedom with little consequence back in Malibu. As Poppy doesn’t want to be at the school, she starts intentionally breaking bigger rules in order to get expelled so she can go back home. Her pranks keep backfiring, however, especially as headmistress Mrs. Kingsley (Natasha Richardson, The Parent Trap) soon realises what she is trying to do. This leads Poppy having to come up with a bigger plan: get caught kissing Mrs. Kingsley’s son, Freddie (Alex Pettyfer, Stormbreaker, Magic Mike), whom she actually falls for.
Not only does Poppy struggle to follow the rules, she also struggles with knowing the proper way to behave in general, which highlights her arrogance and entitlement. In one scene, Poppy barges into Mrs. Kingsley’s office, immediately launching into a speech defending herself, until Mrs. Kingsley interrupts to tell her to go back and knock. “But you asked to see me!” Poppy exclaims. Poppy is not used to behaving in a way that is polite and shows respect to authoritative figures. On the other hand, Poppy makes an excellent point with earning respect earlier in the film when meeting Harriet, which further showcases the differences in American and British culture.
Harriet: You shake the hand of the Head Girl out of respect.
Poppy: When the Head Girl has earned my respect, then I’ll shake her hand, biatch!
Harriet: I’m sorry?
Poppy: Apology accepted.
Despite Poppy’s desperate attempts to get expelled from school, Mrs. Kingsley seems to show her nothing but kindness, giving her multiple second chances, hoping she will eventually settle in and change. When she gives Poppy an “Alice in Wonderland” book, saying “you might surprise yourself and actually enjoy it,” Poppy responds with: “This is my punishment? This school is so weird.” Poppy expects a straightforward prank = punishment, but at this boarding school, she experiences something much different. Mrs. Kingsley actually pays attention to her and tries to bring out the real girl “underneath all those wisecracks.” She is a reasonable authority figure who genuinely has Poppy’s best interests in mind.
Poppy’s friends are kind girls, but they don’t stand for her selfishness. In one early scene, Kate reminds Poppy once again that she needs to make her bed. “It’s not rocket science,” she says, but Poppy gets up and struggles which leads Kate to helping her. Even during her own frustrations, Kate can’t help but show kindness. She is good-natured at heart. As Abbey Mount has a no-phones policy, Kate says the girls give away their decoy phones, but keep their real ones hidden. She offers her phone to Poppy, telling her to call whoever she likes. “But why would you do this for me? You think I’m a total asshole,” Poppy says. “No, you behave like an asshole,” Kate says. “There’s a difference.” Kate then goes on to say: “Look, I know I’m not some Malibu therapist, but I can guess that you’re feeling scared and a little bit homesick. Which, in my experience, doesn’t actually make you a bad person. Just a normal one.” Once again, Poppy is met with behaviour that surprises her, considering what she’s used to.
Throughout the film, Poppy grows close to her new friend group and eventually discovers that her old friends don’t care about her now that she’s no longer living their selfish, indulgent lifestyle in California. Her BFF Ruby (Shelby Young) stepped into Poppy’s role as Queen Bee as soon as she left for England, and her boyfriend Roddy (Johnny Pacar) began cheating on her with Ruby. While we don’t learn much about any of these characters, they all have outward traits that stand out. For example, Ruby is a backstabbing bitch. Drippy, on the other hand, regularly sneaks into the school freezer at night to eat-cream, and when the girls are attempting to appear older in order to buy alcohol, Drippy can’t help but add some Creme Eggs to the shop, which blows their cover. The difference in traits between Poppy’s friends in America and Poppy’s friends in England is staggering.
Wild Child is a teen comedy that doesn’t revolve around sex, but of course references to sex are made. Poppy’s new friends think she must be sexually experienced because she’s from California. Initially, Poppy says she’s had sex with a handful of boys she lists off like a shopping list, before eventually revealing that she is a virgin. That was just a lie she was used to telling back in Malibu. This highlights another lifestyle difference between Californian teen girls versus British ones. That’s not to say that the latter are never obsessed with having sex — see Skins for example — but that the pressures of losing your virginity in your teens isn’t big in the UK. There’s still a romantic element with Freddie as Poppy’s love interest, but the film is not concerned with sex, nor are the characters. Instead, it focuses on Poppy’s character development as she becomes a better person and slowly begins to process the grief of her mother’s passing as she connects with her memory through the school.
As the film’s antagonist, Harriet possesses her own set of bad qualities, but for all their differences, Harriet and Poppy are quite similar. Poppy is a spoiled, American rich bitch, while Harriet is a snotty, upper class toff. Harriet uses her intellectual prestige and extracurricular overachieving against Poppy, instead of trying to compete with her designer fashion and attractiveness — although there is a scene where Harriet, dressed as Keira Knightley, tries to win over Freddie by quoting lines from Pride and Prejudice. Harriet despises Poppy’s obnoxious and lewd behaviour, especially at the dance—Poppy sure knows how to party, but so do her friends! At one point, Harriet says, “The school motto is ‘Scholarship, fellowship, loyalty,’ not ‘Be a slutty, whorey, shit brain.’” Poppy having to wear a school uniform while at Abbey Mount makes everyone the same and not only forces her to rely on her other qualities, but allows other people to like her for who she actually is, rather than what she looks like and the persona she is trying to emit.
Kate: Sorry, Mrs. Kingsley, we just got a little bit carried away.
Mrs. Kingsley: Well as I understand, Drippy was carried away by Mr. Nellis and Miss Rees-Withers — after laying in a pool of her own vomit!
Drippy: Actually, it was Kate’s vomit, Mrs. Kingsley — I was just lying in it.
Harriet was fairly ineffectual as a villain at the start of the film, not quite getting to Poppy — until she turns her friends against her by writing fake emails and then framing her to trying to burn the school down! Fortunately, the truth always comes out and Poppy’s friends were able to get to know her and forgive her for any misgivings, allowing for the fact that the most obnoxious people are only human and are capable of change. Wild Child sees Poppy grow out of her bratty behaviour as she develops traits of honesty, loyalty, and courage through finding true connection in friendship and healthy responsibility in becoming the captain of the lacrosse team. There is, of course, a symbolic makeover scene in which Poppy goes from blonde to brunette, looking exactly like her mother. Poppy becomes even more accepting of her new life at Abbey Mount once she discovers that her mother attended and she is following in her footsteps. As Kate said regarding Poppy’s assholery, bad behaviour doesn’t make you a bad person. One difference between Poppy and Harriet is that Poppy grows and changes from her experiences, while Harriet doesn’t.
Although the fictional boarding school of Abbey Mount was filmed at Cobham Hall School in Kent, Wild Child seems to be set in the North of England due to the locations the characters visit, which is a welcome change from Malibu and films that only recognise London. Several of the girls have Northern accents, but there are some Scottish and Southern accents in there, too. What’s more, the cast members look like normal English girls, which helps the film and their friendships feel more realistic. Even Roberts in this role looks like a normal teenage girl. Apt at playing the popular, bitchy mean girl, I believe her upbringing as a wealthy American, but I also believe her when she softens into a brunette, finally settling into her life at Abbey Mount.
The film also makes gorgeous use of English villages, such as Robin Hood’s Bay on the North Yorkshire Coast, in which Poppy and Freddie escape to. We didn’t spend too much time in Malibu at the start of the film to contrast this heavily, but we didn’t need too — it’s already ingrained from all the American films we’ve seen, and so the contrast still works. The girls also sneak off shopping for some much needed makeovers, which offers us a fabulous fashion montage. The shop is actually a Cancer Research charity shop called The Souk, based in Haworth, West Yorkshire. It’s refreshing to see the use of a charity shop as normal to these girls, while Poppy has to adjust to it because she’s used to her high-end, designer fashion stores. The hairdressers and off-licence were also filmed in Haworth and, again, are not large or branded high-street stores.
Wild Child is a lively and entertaining film with tons of pop references (there’s a teacher called Miss Rees-Withers — hello Reese Witherspoon — who looks like Melanie C from the Spice Girl), a banging soundtrack, and an excellent cast all supporting its heartwarming story and reputable themes of honesty and friendship. It’s full of iconic scenes and hilarious one-liners, allowing it to be perfect teen comedy made for endless rewatching. The way Wild Child uses juxtaposition highlights the differences between teenage culture across England and America, albeit in an often tongue-in-cheek way, which only adds to the humour, while reminding us that everyone has value and is capable of change and worthy of forgiveness.
