Movie 45: Goodnight Mommy

Starring: Susanne Wuest, Lukas Schwarz, Elias Schwarz, Hans Escher.

Director: Veronika Franz, Severin Fiala.

My expectations were pretty high for this Austrian import after seeing a pretty pulse pounding trailer and reading a good deal of hype.  The Film was given a limited release here in the states about a month ago and, after much anticipation on my part, finally got picked up by the local pseudo-art-house theater in my home town.  Naturally, I went to the first available showing of the film.

In lieu of a DVD cover..

It's very difficult to discuss this film without giving anything away.  While I usually make a point of saying that this is most definitely a spoiler-space and that you should read at your own risk (as I often just talk about what's happening in the film as I see it, even with a new release DVD, but usually those are very old films, don't have a plot worth keeping a secret or both), but some movies have plot devices and conceptual highs that should be discovered naturally, and Goodnight Mommy has enough of both to qualify.  So I'll try to keep plot details non-existent or safely vague.

So, let's just get the vague out of the way: for those of you who know nothing about the film, the general premise surrounds twin brothers who are disturbed when their Mother returns from some cosmetic surgery bandaged, weird-looking, and a bit short on patience.  Naturally, the pair decide that while she may look familiar, this Woman most certainly is not their real Mother.  After this, hilarity obviously ensues.  What the film probably does the best is play with a "twist" trope that is so glaringly obvious to a viewer that it becomes borderline insulting in its transparency...right up until you realize that transparency is deliberately being deployed to mess with the viewers sense of narrative associations as well as their general sense of normal plot development.  In the end, the device is nicely utilized.

In essence, Goodnight Mommy is not scary.  This isn't really a criticism: it's not meant to be.  While it's short on active fear techniques, it manages to be a mostly thoughtful (but not extraordinarily so) and emotional piece.  Most certainly, fear is one of the emotions that are presented throughout the films running time, but as emotional as the film is it remains very introverted and keeps things close to the chest.  It isn't introspective, though, which is interesting for a movie that keeps itself to a simmer rather than a boiling over:characters never really seem to ruminate on their thoughts and feelings, primarily choosing to keep them quiet but readily performed for the audience to witness.

While not scary, per se, the film is very much infused with a feeling that can be best described as uneasiness.  From its opening moments the audience is confronted with a general feeling of unrest and impending dread, even if the source of those emotions aren't made entirely clear until the proceedings are well underway.  As the titular Mother examines her naked body in a mirror while her face is a mangled, bandaged mess, the audience can't help but feel that they're witnessing something not right.  Never does the film jump out and yell boo, nor does it really succeed in building traditional tension, it simple dares you to keep viewing no matter how uncomfortable it makes you.  And there is plenty of discomfort: Mother's appearance, The Brothers cagey silence, jars filled with hissing cockroaches and long tracking shots of empty spaces.

In terms of visual style, it doesn't take long at all to be reminded of the films of Michael Heneke(Funny Games): the aforementioned long tracking shots, symmetrical compositions and the use of simple techniques involving space.  For instance: the house the three live in is a large space, but when viewed in an exterior shot, it is miniscule against the massive canopy of trees that surround it.  A spacious, sunny bedroom is seemingly cut in half by the closing of blinds.  Characters hide under beds, traverse caves and enter various forms of isolation and imprisonment.  The camera loves to linger quietly on its characters, often turning an aside glance into an extremely telling moment.

The performances from all involved are suitably quiet and mostly understated, maybe even to the point of becoming less interesting than it might have been otherwise, but considering the films overall style any sort of big, dynamic performance choices would likely have undercut everything.  That isn't to say there isn't big stuff in Goodnight Mommy, nor is it to say that the film is in any way dull, just that it might try the patience of anyone looking for something akin to a cinematic roller coaster ride.  While most of the performance relies on that quiet intensity, on occasion some behaviors exhibited by the characters borders on baffling, especially in moments where their self-preservation is outright threatened.  These moments are, thankfully, rare and a minor quibble.

Goodnight Mommy does a fine job with pacing, especially considering its near (but not total) mastery of the traditional three act structure: a languid, building pace in act one, a quietly escalating second act where the plot thickens and lines are drawn, and then the third act filled with a climax that is more emotional than physical (not that it isn't physical in places).  Unfortunately the last act is filled with more than a couple suspense/thriller cliches that don't quite live up to the weird, drifting promise of the first.

Final Thoughts: Filled with ups and downs, Goodnight Mommy seems to succeed more often than it fails, mostly for its clever use of certain devices and mentalities that to speak any more of would be a disservice to anyone who decided to view the film for themselves.  The film is beautifully photographed, emotionally resonant (if not a little too withdrawn), suitably alarming and performed by a cast of strong actors who make reasonably bold performance choices.  It's paced well visually and tonally but somewhat less so within the confines of the narrative, which is quite possibly it's biggest flaw: the narrative is something of a one-trick pony and, while that trick is an impressive and well-enacted one, seems a little at a loss when left to its own devices.  Overall a strong, unsettling flick that will reward the patient and visually inclined viewer but likely drive others away.

Final Rating: Three and a Half Stars.