28 Jul Resurrection Review

RESURRECTION

dir. Andrew Semans, starring Rebecca Hall, Tim Roth, Grace Kaufman, and Michael Esper

Margaret leads a successful and orderly life, perfectly balancing the demands of her busy career and single parenthood to her fiercely independent daughter Abbie. Everything is under control. But that careful balance is upended when an unwelcome shadow from her past, David returns, carrying with him the horrors of Margaret’s past. Battling her rising fear, Margaret must confront the monster she’s evaded for two decades who has come to conclude their unfinished business.

An excellently paced film, Semans takes the first act to show viewers the wonderful life Margaret has made for herself. A nice job, a great apartment, a bratty daughter she loves, and some rigorous nighttime activities are all quickly and easily established to let us know that she’s on top of her world before it all comes crashing down. While some stories tend to slow down in their second act, Resurrection ramps up the uneasiness by bringing David to the forefront to begin crumbling Margaret’s walls of sanity. Semans’ decision to make Margaret an unreliable narrator only increases the film’s paranoia and confusion, forcing the viewers to join her on her quest for answers and peace. Gaslighting is the major issue at hand and unfortunately for everyone involved, David is a master at it. The mental torture Margaret endures at the hands of David might be uncomfortable for some, but Semans puts it directly in front of us, shining a spotlight on David’s atrocious actions and if only one person watching this movie recognizes David’s behavior in their own spouse or significant other and moves for change, then Resurrection is a success.

Starring Rebecca Hall, Resurrection is a vehicle that is perfect for her to display her talents. From well groomed and meticulous to shabby and worn down, Hall is masterful at showing the depth of Margaret’s descension into madness. Hall’s preference for strongly emotional roles has developed her into one of the better actresses of recent memory; having just come off Night House, which also a powerful performance, she’s doubled down on that intensity while also displaying a naked vulnerability and fear that can only come from having to face past agonies. Featuring a monologue that is simultaneously impressive to behold while horrifying in nature, her stoic delivery at its beginning that transitions into her walls finally tumbling at its end is the film’s finest scene. Hall’s rapid switch from manicured to soiled and disheveled haggardness gives the actress the room to flex her skills and remind the audience that she’s able to transition from blockbuster films to smaller budget movies with ease.

Tim Roth delivers one his better performances in recent memory. As David, Margaret’s ex and now constant source of pain, Roth’s upbeat and laid back demeanor are initially disarming but Roth injects enough sinister intention behind it to quickly reveal just how manipulative David can be. His performance here is subtle, low key enough to convey the idea that David has power over Margaret, and it’s a dynamic that they’re both aware of. With the focus of the story being on Margaret and her unraveling, David shows in the second act and appears sporadically throughout until the end. Thanks to Roth’s performance, David’s presence is felt even when he’s not on screen.

Grace Kaufman and Michael Esper serve as collateral damage throughout the film. As Margaret’s daughter Abbie, Kaufman plays an excellent bratty teenager who’s ready to break out from under the smothering thumb of her mother. As the movie progresses, Abbie’s aloof indifference to her mom turns into genuine concern due to Margaret’s declining mental state. Kaufman’s switch from her devil-may-care attitude to attempting to ensure her mom’s well being is wonderfully handled by Kaufman, reminds us that (usually) under that frequent teen bluster are kids who love their parents. Michael Esper has the least to do in the movie as Peter, Margaret’s co-worker who appears to be her only attachment to life outside of her daughter. Appearing in a handful of scenes, Esper uses his time to show that Peter seems to legitimately care about Margaret but ultimately becomes a discarded victim of her decline.

Written and directed by Andrew Semans, Resurrection is proof against the old cliche of the sophomore slump. Semans’ writing is sharp, systematically stripping away Margaret’s world with a ruthless precision until she’s left with nothing but her insecurities and trauma. From a directing standpoint, Semans keeps the audience present and engaged, setting an unsettling mood that bubbles just under the surface until it explodes into full on mania in the third act. At 103 minutes, not a second is wasted, characters and relationships and quickly and easily established, the plot moves at a relentless pace, and by the time the final confrontation between Margaret and David happens, the audience is primed for a conclusion that subverts all expectations.

Overall, the strength of Resurrection lies in its performances. Rebecca Hall proves yet again she’s one of the most intense working actresses today and Tim Roth’s subtly deceptive easygoing demeanor helps to create a character that is delightfully vile. A complete mindbender of a movie that will leave audiences questioning what was and wasn’t real is bolstered by Semans’ teases and reveals. Resurrection will be released by IFC Films in theaters on July 29th, on Demand on August 5th, and exclusively on Shudder on October 28th.

Review by Darryl Mansel