Unflinching Back pushes viewer to the limit
The Philippou Brothers’ Bring Her Back is likely to be a
divisive film, primarily because it’s so well-made. Like their impressive 2022
debut, Talk to Me, it pulls no punches where its violent content is
concerned, yet what makes it resonate is its emotional pull. A bracing
examination of grief, Back takes the theme of W.W. Jacobs’ The
Monkey’s Paw and Stephen King’s Pet Sematary and pushes it to its
breaking point, the directors daring the viewer to stick it out until its
heart-breaking climax. Not for the casual viewer, this is for horror film
aficionados, and even they will likely be watching most of it through their
fingers.
Shocking examples of death abound, the first being that of
stepsiblings Andy (Billy Barratt) and Piper’s (Sora Wong) father. The image of
him bloodied and dead in the shower sears itself into the children’s brains,
and ours as well, as this event resonates throughout the film. Only 17, Andy is
unable to take custody of his blind stepsister, though he intends on applying
to do so once he’s of age. In the meantime, they’re put into foster care, taken
in by Laura (Sally Hawkins). The former social worker is a bit eccentric,
overbearing in her enthusiasm towards Piper. It’s obvious from the start that
she’s tolerating Andy just to have the girl near her and when he finds out her
recently deceased daughter, Cathy (Mischa Heywood), was also blind, her behavior
begins to make sense.
Yet, the presence of another child Laura has given shelter to
proves unsettling. Oliver (Jonah Wren Phillips) has obviously suffered a great
trauma. His head is clean-shaven, he doesn’t speak and is prone to violent
outbursts. There’s something terribly wrong with this child, yet Andy can’t put
his finger on just what ails him.
Slowly, a more dubious side to Laura is revealed. She
manipulates Andy into trusting her, only to use the secrets he shares against
him. She also goes out of her way to set up situations in which the young man
seems irresponsible, and it becomes obvious she’s trying to scuttle his chances
of getting custody of Piper. Laura pouring over a grainy VHS tape that contains
a ritual of some sort only adds to the mystery surrounding her actions.
While there are a couple jump scares along the way, this is
a slow-burn horror film, one that slowly reveals its intent, becoming more and
more disturbing as it unfolds. It’s also a movie that lends itself to multiple
viewings, as seemingly innocuous acts you’re likely to overlook reveal
themselves as significant clues as to what’s afoot.
Death is the trigger for both Andy and Laura, the behavior
of each irrevocably altered by it. The passing of the former’s father awakens
long-repressed anger and fear in the young man, his relationship with the
deceased parent not what Piper thought it was. As for Laura, the death of her
daughter has sent her into a tailspin, her reasoning taking a backseat to her
desperation. Resurrecting Cathy is her only concern, and she uses it to justify
actions she never would have considered taking before.
The entire cast is very good, yet Hawkins is the standout.
Playing against our expectations, the actress’ performance is unlike anything
she’s previously done. She walks a fine line throughout, making sure Laura
never comes off as totally unsympathetic. While her actions are self-serving and
her behavior obsessive, Hawkins never lets us forget the grief the character is
carrying, garnering our empathy throughout despite Laura’s heinous acts.
As the horror unfolds and Laura’s intent becomes plain, all
the children are put in peril and disturbing, violent acts unfold. While the
Philippous are intent on pushing us to the edge, their purpose is sound. Horror
films are meant to disturb, to get under our skin, to force us to consider that
which is off limits. The Philippous succeed in doing just that, so much so some
viewers are likely to have an adverse reaction to the film.
That being the case, one shouldn’t mislabel a movie that’s
disturbing as “bad.” To be sure, Back is unpleasant, a film you admire
and endure more than enjoy. Yet, the proof that it’s expertly made is in the
viewer’s reaction. Had it been a slipshod production riddled with amateurish
performances it would be dismissed out of hand. That it elicits such a visceral
response attest to its power and the filmmakers’ skill.
Putting us in Laura’s shoes, Back asks the viewer
what they would do in the face of the most unspeakable of tragedies. That we
don’t discount her efforts out of hand, speaks to the potential monster that
lurks in us all. In theaters.
Fountain fun but familiar
A sense of familiarity runs throughout Guy Ritchie’s Fountain
of Youth, a film cut from the same cloth as the Indiana Jones adventures. However, instead of one
intrepid archeologist, our heroes are a bickering brother-and-sister team that
approach the preservation of antiquities from decidedly different perspectives.
Flexing its $180 million budget at every turn, the movie utilizes its various
international locations to good effect, giving the film a true sense of
grandeur, which helps when sitting through its predictable story.
Luke Purdue (John Krasinski) fashions himself as a kind of
Robin Hood where retrieving priceless paintings and other rare artifacts are
concerned. However, he’s not immune to taking a big payday when it’s available.
That’s the case at present as he’s in the employ of billionaire Owen Carver
(Domhnall Gleeson), a man with deep, deep pockets but little time. Seems he’s dying and is desperate to find the
fountain of youth.
Though many, including Purdue’s museum-curator sister, Charlotte (Natalie Portman), would discount this object as nothing but a
fanciful myth, a new theory suggests otherwise. Seems clues have been left on
the backs of six famous paintings that will supposedly reveal its location. The
problem is, these art works are scattered about the globe, requiring a great
deal of travel and danger. One of them
is lying at the bottom of the ocean amidst the wreckage of the Lusitania. Still
another is hanging the museum where Charlotte works.
Bad enough the Purdues and their cohorts, Murphy (Laz Alonso)
and Deb (Carmen Ejogo), must travel from one country to another with Carver to
track these down, but they have company as well. After Luke steals a painting
from Charlotte’s workplace, resulting in her termination, Interpol agent Jamal
Abbas (Arian Moayed) is on their tail. Also dogging their steps is Esme (Eiza
Gonzalez), leader of a well-armed holy order known as The Protectors whose job
is to keep the location of the fountain a secret.
Before all is done, good guys reveal themselves to be bad
guys, bad guys turn out to friends and numerous action set pieces are executed,
none of them overstaying their welcome, and a couple being actually quite
clever. Ritchie is a pro at this sort of thing, keeping the film moving but
never allowing it to become frantic, staging the requisite car chases and fist
fights with imagination. Fountain may be familiar, but to its credit it never
belabors the obvious, the director doing his best to find a fresh morsel among
the stale narrative crumbs he’s saddled with.
Portman and Krasinski are very good as the contentious
siblings, their rapport genuine, their timing sharp. Equally good is Benjamin
Chivers as Charlotte’s son, Thomas, who gets dragged along on the adventure, his
sincerity going a long way toward convincing us his character is a genius.
Gonzalez and Gleeson hit their marks and know their lines, while Stanley Tucci
stops by for one scene as The Elder, the head of the Protectors. I wouldn’t be
surprised if he knocked this out between set-ups during Conclave.
The cast’s conviction keeps us
involved, while the film’s climax manages to pose some interesting moral
questions. Seems a dire price is exacted from anyone drinking from the titular
spring. The decision whether to imbibe or not is a revelation of one’s
character, a situation that proves interesting, as well as similar to the ending
in Raiders of the Lost Ark. This is appropriate as Fountain is
unable to separate itself from similarly themed movies, yet it manages to be a
serviceable enough entertainment despite that. Streaming on Apple TV+.