Tomáš Giemza is a poor young law student in Warsaw who is expelled after copying work. He hides the failure from a rich family that once helped him, because he wants their respect and their daughter Gabi. He then joins a public relations company that secretly sells online lies, fake praise, and smear campaigns. The cold thriller follows his stalking, revenge, and growing control over people until online games help cause real violence.
The film gives a large place to a liberal mayoral candidate who supports refugees, warns against xenophobia, and is linked to a gay social platform. His campaign uses messages about freedom, equality, democracy, tolerance, and a world without populism. Tomasz answers with anti-immigrant and anti-LGBT smears, then sets a pro-candidate march against a nationalist protest. These ideas matter to the main plot because the identity-based attacks drive the campaign story and lead to the final shooting, although the film also attacks wealthy liberal elites and shows both sides as divided and dishonest.
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Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for The Hater.
Woke representation / casting
The cast is mainly Polish and fits a modern Warsaw story, so there is no broad diversity pattern. Paweł Rudnicki is a prominent gay mayoral candidate, and his private identity drives a major campaign scandal. The film does not present the casting as a diversity campaign.
18%
Woke political dialogue
The film gives the liberal candidate clear lines about accepting refugees and rejecting fear of foreigners. His campaign repeats freedom, equality, democracy, tolerance, and opposition to fascism. The film also shows anti-immigrant, anti-Islam, and anti-LGBT slogans as tools used by the smear operation. These ideas recur through the campaign and protest scenes, but politics shares space with Tomasz’s personal revenge.
42%
Identity-driven story themes
The main plot is built around a liberal candidate’s support for refugees and his private gay life. Tomasz uses racism, anti-immigrant fear, and anti-LGBT shame to damage the campaign. The film links these attacks to online radicalization, nationalist protests, and a mass shooting. Class resentment and personal revenge remain equally important, so identity politics is a major strand rather than the whole story.
50%
Western institutional / cultural critique
The film attacks the modern media system that turns lies, private videos, and anger into political tools. It shows a wealthy progressive family and a political class that are insulated from the anger outside their world. It also exposes a public relations agency that sells influence to political clients. The film does not focus on Christianity, patriarchy, or traditional family roles, so this critique stays moderate.
25%
Woke character or canon changes
Not relevant. The film tells an original contemporary story, apart from loose links to Komasa’s earlier Suicide Room. No established character or real historical figure is given a new identity.
0%
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
Some Polish right-leaning voices called the film left-wing propaganda because it presents a liberal, pro-refugee candidate against nationalist and anti-LGBT groups. One small Reddit thread and a Filmweb forum post made similar claims. The separate X check found only a few low-reach posts and no organized campaign. Mainstream coverage focused on hate speech, online manipulation, and the film’s real-life parallel.
20%
Creator track record context
Jan Komasa often makes stories about young people, faith, social pressure, and resistance to harsh systems. Mateusz Pacewicz often writes about exclusion, social division, and people who use belief or power to control others. Their work supports the film’s focus on social fracture and manipulation. Their public record shows no strong activist or identity-first persona.
35%
Production
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