Speak effectively pushes viewers’ buttons
While I’m often weary of American remakes of foreign films, on rare occasion this approach produces a worthy feature that can stand on its own. Such is the case with James Watkins’ Speak No Evil, a redux that borrows its premise from Christian and Mads Tafdrup’s 2022 Dutch horror feature.
American expats Ben and Louise Dalton (Scoot McNairy and Mackenzie Davis) and their daughter, Agnes (Alix West Lefler), meet Paddy and Ciara (McAvoy and Aisling Franciosi) with their son, Ant (Dan Hough), on a trip to Tuscany. Thinking of them as just passing acquaintances, Ben and Louise are pleasantly surprised when they receive an invitation to spend the weekend with them on their farm in rural England. They accept, and the Daltons head out for what they imagine will be a relaxing weekend. Upon their arrival, it quickly becomes apparent they may have made a mistake. The house is cramped and rundown, while Paddy subtly begins to dig at his guests, needling Louise about her vegetarianism and Ben over his manhood. These micro-aggressions bloom into more obvious threats, and when the Daltons attempt to leave, their efforts are stymied at every turn.
The second act proves the most effective section as Watkins properly stretches out the mystery regarding just what’s going on at the isolated farm. It’s evident something’s amiss, yet just what’s at play percolates beneath the surface, their son, Ant, ultimately becoming the key in exposing his parents’ dark secrets. Watkins and his cast create a sense of tension that steadily and convincingly grows, a pit likely to form in the viewer’s stomach as Paddy and Ciara’s intentions become clear.
Louise is forced to take it upon herself to defend her family, a role you sense she’s been chomping at the bit to assume. Davis is very good; you get the sense her rage has been roiling about inside for some time and she’s been looking for the opportunity to cut loose. The actress is relishing the chance as well. However, she’s no match for McAvoy - but then again, few performers are, especially when he’s afforded the opportunity to go over the top as he is here. The actor’s overbearing presence is genuinely frightening as he takes a feral approach that becomes increasingly manic, until it becomes obvious that Paddy simply needs to be put down.
And while the ending may seem a bit pat, the clash between Paddy and Louise is a memorable one, so much so that it overshadows the script’s predictability. Moody and relatable, Speak proves an effective exercise in tension, one that will speak to anyone who’s found themselves trapped in a conversation with someone who never gets tired of the sound of his own voice or spouting his polemic opinions. In theaters.
Room examines and combats true evil
Like so many young couples, Belinda and Norman (Brandy Norwood and Andrew Burnap) are struggling. The repairs are constant on the old house they bought and with her having quit her job in a fit of pique, money has gotten even tighter. The fact that she’s expecting only adds to the stress they’re dealing with. So, when Norman’s father dies, it seems like yet another stressor added to an already insurmountable pile. While there was some tension between him and his father, the real issue was always with his stepmother, Solange (Hunter). A religious fanatic, she has no boundaries as far as imposing her beliefs and opinions on those around her, and she makes Norman an offer he can’t refuse. He and Belinda are set to inherit her estate, which consists of hundreds of thousands of dollars. All they must do is let her move in with them and care for her until she dies.
Solange immediately begins manipulating them, reveling in her incontinence and the fact that Belinda is left to clean up her malodorous messes, while also leveling accusations of abuse towards her with a mania that proves convincing. As her Christian iconography slowly creeps from her bedroom to other areas of the house, her insidious presence grows, reaching a peak when a prayer group shows up, insisting on laying hands on Belinda to bless her child before birth.
This moment, as well as those in which her blatant racism is exposed are at the heart of the movie, as Solange’s past is Belinda’s forever present. As her oppressor laments the passing of the good old days, the mother-to-be continues to battle the prejudice leveled towards her and her peers, an evil that refuses to die. As a result, Room manages to have an impact, as it not only puts our national shame in the crosshairs but examines the moral compromises that are sometimes made to combat it. In theaters.
Winner a cautionary tale of patriotism
On August 23, 2018, Reality Winner was sentenced to a term of incarceration lasting five years and three months for breaking the Espionage Acton of 1917. This was the longest sentence given to anyone convicted of disclosing classified information and if you happened to miss the story, you’re not alone. Though the government did not sweep this under the rug, they didn’t go out of their way to push the narrative in the media, as the Trump administration was in no hurry to have the leaked document thrust into the spotlight. That it stated the then-president had many contacts with Vladimir Putin wouldn’t have looked good.
Susanna Fogel’s Winner examines how a young, idealistic woman from Texas came to be regarded as a traitor to her country. Using sardonic humor throughout, Kerry Howley’s script drills deep into the titular character’s past. An anomaly among her peers, thanks to her liberal, lay-about father (Zach Galifianakis), Winner (Emilia Jones, doing great work) is spurred to action after the 9/11 attacks. However, unlike her jingoistic neighbors, she wants to help the innocents caught in the crossfire, and begins to learn Middle Eastern languages, hoping one day to work as a translator.
As soon as she graduates from high school she joins the Air Force, reasoning this would be the quickest way to realize her goal. However, she’s instead assigned to Fort Meade where she conducts surveillance on the Taliban, translating conversations and passing along any chatter that seems suspicious. Quicker than her coworkers, she’s eventually told she’s been responsible for over 600 casualties - men, women and children who were terminated due to the information she’s passed on.
Winner’s anguish over this is the film’s central conflict and becomes the viewers’ as well, torn between a sense of loyalty to her country and her own sense of morality. Once she enters the private sector and gets access to reams of sensitive information, she struggles over just what the right thing to do is. Is it right to expose the government’s lies and abuses? Or do their ends justify the means of their aggression, heinous though they might be? Winner’s idealism is consistent throughout, but the means through which she practices it is problematic.
Arresting throughout, the film pulls no punches in the way the government deludes its citizens, counting on our complacency not to rock the boat. In no uncertain terms, Winner shows what happens to those independent thinkers who insist on asking pointed questions regarding thorny subjects. Dissent is not tolerated, as a good citizen is one that keeps their head down and minds their own business. Our silence is equated with consent, to our collective peril. Available through Video-On-Demand.
