What would you do if you kept receiving strange gifts from somebody you have an uncomfortable past with? Someone who you have wronged in the past, and tried to cover it up. Well, you get a pretty tense little movie, with some genuine real life terror, some terrific performances, and strong writing and direction.
The film stars Rebecca Hall, Jason Bateman and was written, directed and also star Joel Edgerton. While I did have a little hesitation to check this movie out as I have never had any particular attraction to Joel Edgerton (other than late night reruns of the first season of The Secret Life of Us), however I was not only surprised, I was blown away with how focussed and well presented this film was. The cinematography is crisp, the mood is thick, and the pacing sticks like molasses almost like you are wading through the film.
Rebecca Hall (Robyn Callen) really delivers a terrific performance, playing the slightly nervous wife of Jason Bateman (Simon Callen), who uncovers her recent troubles with mental health, and begins to question the morality of her husband, as they move to California from Chicago for a fresh start. Jason Bateman plays a character quite outside of his usual idiosyncrasies, playing a serious, determined, undermining and generally uneasy guy, however does show that he is at points playing a good husband. His performance truly elevates the film, as he proves that he can be a dramatic force when he sinks into his character.
If I was surprised by Jason Bateman, nothing prepared me for Joel Edgerton. He plays a very unique character in 2015, as he really blurs the lines between the protagonist and the antagonist, reminding me of a villain from a David Fincher film, as there is a lot of angles to this character. He plays Gordon “Gordo” Mosely, who sees the couple and recognised Simon from his high school days, they have a brief exchange and nothing is revealed about the past between the two men. He then leaves a gift on their doorstep while they are out, and seems genuine in his attempt to befriend the two. As the film moves on Gordon seems to leave Simon in a spin, just showing dislike for the sake of dislike and once this happens Gordon starts to make waves that the couple end up swimming in.
While knowing too much about the plot is pretty detrimental for the full effect of the film, and this might be as far as I go, but I will say that this film really did a number on me. It scared me in my real life, leaving me slightly paranoid, as it really forces you to recall your past and maybe dusting off some of those skeletons that you thought were completely gone. It was also a bit of a head scratcher, as there was no real “good guy” in the film, so it was hard to know how I felt at the end of it, and a microscopic look at any person’s life might reveal unflattering secrets.
I also feel that you will perceive the film in two ways depending on the way you lived your life, whether you were treated well by your peers, or you have that person that even just the memory make you afraid. On the other side, it may persuade you to go and call all of the people you ever knew and make peace with them, you never know whose life you may have wrecked.
If I had one criticism, that isn’t a problem for me personally, but the pacing can be a little snail like at points. I felt in these parts that the tension ached and was great for building the suspense, but this was only really when they focused on Robyn, when the pace slowed on other characters in the film it did get a little drawn out, but this criticism is minor as the performances dealt with this issue quite well.
Finally, I have to say that I was more than impressed with this film, it was great to see a thriller that didn’t rely on modern film making cheese to get cheap thrills across, and instead offered a deep look inside ourselves as the desired message of the film.
It shows that no matter what you are now it doesn’t change who you were then, and it may be easier to regress than progress.
9/10
Review By. Jack Bayley
