‘The Hater’: Brilliant navigation of anti-hero's insanity makes Netflix's Polish thriller a compelling watch
Spoilers for 'The Hater'
Hailing from a village, the protagonist of ‘The Hater’ perhaps comes across as a naive guy one wouldn’t really take notice of at first glance, but what he holds within is pivotal to retain order in society. He comes with the ability to destroy everything in ways unimaginable. Netflix’s latest Polish thriller presents to us one such intriguing yet unnerving personality with Tomasz Giemza (Maciej Musialowski), who you couldn’t stop thinking about on witnessing the insanity, which is limited by nothing.
In what begins as the typical tale of a small-town boy, Tomasz, desperately trying to get the attention of his uppity childhood friend Gabi Krasucka (Vanessa Aleksander), ‘The Hater’ doesn’t take too long to introduce us to its dark side. After getting kicked out of law school for committing plagiarism, our flawed protagonist finds a place for himself in an unprincipled PR agency that benefits from making lives miserable for the famous few using questionable means on social media.
For Tomasz, however, the job, besides providing an opportunity to thrive on his twisted ways of working, helps get back at Gabi’s parents for pushing her away from him after the two were caught doing drugs. When Tomasz learns about Mr and Mrs Krasucka’s proximity to the politician Pawel Rudnicki (Maciej Stuhr) and how his loss in upcoming elections would impact Gabi’s parents, Tomasz plans to end Rudnicki. Tomasz becomes a celebrity of sorts in his own right for doing his job exceptionally well. However, his persistent efforts to do anything to remain atop in the game and wreak vengeance on those who tried to separate him from Gabi paints him as one of the scariest anti-heroes you would have ever come across.
‘The Hater’, through the lens of Musialowski’s character shows the struggles of a misfit to belong in the conventional society, while the movie by itself brilliantly navigates various socio-political issues with a compelling plotline. The movie comes alive through its story and representation of characters and does not depend on cinematography or production value, which are commendable any way.
Needless to say, Polish actor Musialowski headlines the movie, and it’s only fair he does, since now it seems like nobody else could have done similar justice to Tomasz. His actions and gestures speak louder than words and as the title suggests, you will find yourself hating him as much as you would love him for his bright intellect and manipulative ways.
‘The Hater’ is definitely one of Netflix’s finest and should the viewers request for a sequel one wouldn’t be surprised at all. The movie doesn’t end with a cliffhanger per se, but teases enough throughout, making you want him more. Overall, ‘The Hater’ makes for a great watch, from the start till end with barely anything holding it back.
‘The Hater’ is available to stream on Netflix from July 29.