Rated
PG-13 (Violence and Terror, Some Disturbing Images and Thematic Elements)
Running
Time: 1 Hour & 40 Minutes
Cast-
Jessica
Chastain-Annabel
Nikolaj
Coster-Waldau-Lucas/Jeffrey
Megan
Charpentier-Victoria
Isabelle
Nélisse-Lilly
Daniel
Kash-Dr. Gerald Dreyfuss
Jane
Moffat-Jean Podolski/Mama (voice)
Javier
Botet-Mama
Hannah
Cheesman-Mama (flashback)
Morgan
McGarry-Young Victoria
Maya
Dawe/Sierra Dawe-Young Lilly
Directed
by Andrés Muschietti
 |
| It's the battle of the Mamas in "Mama," the directorial debut of Andrés Muschietti with Guillermo del Toro producing. |
Note: Screened on Thursday, January 17, 2013, at AMC Empire 25.
During
the panel for Legendary Comics (the comic book division of Legendary Pictures,
Inc.) at last year's New York Comic Con, fan-favorite director Guillermo del
Toro offered a glimpse of one of his sketchbooks for his upcoming sci-fi summer
action film "Pacific Rim," and inside were pages jam-packed with
drawings and hand-written notes of his own ideas. This is one of the reasons
why del Toro is one of my favorite directors as his sense of imagination and
creativity knows no bounds. Always on the lookout for new talent, del Toro has
served as an executive producer on numerous projects, lending not only his name
but also his talents and resources to many freshman directors. To him, being a
producer is a way to 'give back' and help those who just need that extra push,
which is something I really admire on his part. The latest film to bear del
Toro's name is "Mama," based on the 2008 Spanish-language short film
of the same name from Andrés Muschietti. Despite some poor pacing and a reliance
on familiar horror conventions, "Mama" remains a strong directorial
debut for Muschietti as he skillfully blends old-school scares with macabre
visuals yet what makes the film stand out from similar works in its genre is
the story, a dark fable that functions as a tragic ode to a mother's enduring
love, twisted as it may be.
A sudden financial meltdown drives a businessman
named Jeffrey (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) to murder several of his co-workers and
his estranged wife. In his mad grief, he abducts his two daughters, Victoria
and her little sister Lilly, and flees with them in his car. When Victoria
complains to her father that he is driving too fast, Jeffrey yells at her but
he then loses control, swerving off the icy road and crashing into a remote
area in the woods. They survive and eventually come upon an abandoned cabin. As
Jeffrey tearfully prepares to commit a murder/suicide, a strange figure
suddenly appears and drags him away screaming. Staring at the figure, Victoria
can only see a blur. For the next five years later, Jeffrey's twin brother
Lucas (also Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) searches in vain for the girls by putting up
his own money. The searchers he hires accidentally stumble upon the crash site
and the cabin one afternoon. Victoria (Megan Charpentier) and Lilly (Isabelle
Nélisse) are found inside, malnourished and in a feral state, but thankfully
alive. They are put under the care of psychiatrist Dr. Gerald Dreyfuss (Daniel
Kash) while Lucas and a wealthy aunt (Jane Moffat) from their mother's side
fight in court over who gets custody. Wanting to monitor the girls' progress,
Dr. Dreyfuss agrees to recommend Lucas as their guardian as long as he agrees
to move into a special home used to perform case studies. This arrangement does
not sit well with Lucas' girlfriend Annabel (Jessica Chastain) but she goes
along with it despite her less-than motherly demeanor. When Lucas is
hospitalized after taking a nasty fall down the stairs, Annabel is thrust with
the sudden responsibility of taking care of Victoria and Lilly yet it soon
becomes clear that a mysterious presence has been watching over the girls and
still does, a presence referred to in secretive whispers as 'Mama.'
While it's
easy to dismiss "Mama" as another in a long line of forgettable PG-13
horror films, that would be doing it a disservice as what Muschietti and his
writers (which includes his sister Barbara and Neil Cross) have created here is
really a dark and twisted fairy tale, a forebodingly whimsy fable about a
supernatural presence that is more tragic rather than being wholly evil. It's
immediately clear why del Toro wanted to turn Muschietti's short into a feature-length
film as motherhood is often a prominent theme in the films he directs and
produces. Opening with the classic line 'Once upon a time…,' the prologue
establishes a very somber tone as Nikolaj Coster-Waldau's Jeffrey prepares to
murder his daughters before committing suicide. However, something snatches him away and as night
creeps into the cabin, the girls sit by the fire with this…creature hovering
over them. The opening credits fill the audience in during the intervening five
years (represented by children's drawings) and then we're introduced to Lucas
and his unconventional girlfriend Annabel, a Goth chick in a go-nowhere rock
band. Similar to 2011's "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark,"
"Mama" explores the idea of being a mother but the main difference is
that Annabel has no interest in becoming one. In fact, when the pregnancy test
comes back negative, she's ecstatic. In one of the more contrived plot devices,
Lucas is put into a coma after a deadly encounter with 'Mama,' leaving Annabel
as the girls sole guardian. This forms one half of the film's emotional core as
the presence of 'Mama' kicks Annabel's maternal instincts into overdrive. The
other half concerns the tragic backstory of 'Mama' herself and this is where del
Toro's influence is felt the strongest as he's always held a certain affinity
toward monsters. His creatures are always wounded in some way and that's what
makes them so much more interesting compared to whatever cookie-cutter ghost
that Hollywood always comes up with. The question of whether 'Mama' exists is
answered early on, so it is her motives and origins that serve as the central
mystery. The story soon turns into a battle of two mothers, leading to a rather
sad and even bittersweet ending.
Despite his novice status, Muschietti already
displays considerable talent behind the camera, creating a spooky atmosphere by
relying on a 'less-is-more' approach. There's a very memorable scene where he
juxtaposes his camera with one half showing the hallway and the other the girl's
room. As Annabel does her laundry, we see Lilly playfully tugging a sheet with
whom we assume is Victoria. When Victoria walks into view from the hallway, it becomes clear that the person in the girl's
room is 'Mama.' Muschietti is aided by Antonio Riestra's rich cinematography,
full of amber hues that lend the film a homely feel. However, "Mama"
does have some serious stumbles and in adapting a three-minute short, the
writers have overwritten the story. Some of the subplots aren't sufficiently
developed while others are either completely forgotten or abruptly tied-off.
The pacing also begins to drag in the latter half as we're treated to
repetitive scenes of Annabel being startled in what amounts to a cheap 'jump
scare' and the moth symbolism comes across as clichéd. Even the CG used to
enhance 'Mama' isn't as seamless one would hope. It may lean on familiar, even
tired horror tropes but "Mama" still deserves praise for pushing a
deeper emotional connection with its audience when similar films rely on either
blood and gore or one lame scare after another.
This is very unusual role for
Jessica Chastain, spending the bulk of the film in heavy eyeliner and tight
jeans but I can see why she chose it. Sure, this won't rank as one of
Chastain's best performances but her transformation from ambivalent caretaker
to fierce protector is handled convincingly due in part to the film's equal
emphasis on its characters and the scares. The Kingslayer himself, Nikolaj
Coster-Waldau, is fine, although he's absent from the film far too long before
abruptly popping up in the end. The most memorable performances come from the
children. Megan Charpentier's Victoria is conflicted between Annabel and 'Mama'
while Isabelle Nélisse's Lilly can come off as even more creepy and forms another
tragic element to the story as she's unable to integrate back into society.
'Normal' to her is being with 'Mama.' It's all she's ever known.
Released on
January 18, 2013, "Mama" has received mildly positive reviews with
63% on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics noted that those were 'into old-school scares
over cheap gore… [will be] able to get over [the film's] confusing script and
contrived plot devices.' Unfortunately, the advance screening this past
Thursday was almost ruined by immature teenagers and even adults. Honestly,
movies should be watched by those who can appreciate them. That'll cut out much
of the unruly audience who believe it is their right to shout at the screen. As
for the box office, I was originally pegging for Arnold Schwarzenegger's
"The Last Stand" to come out on top but it appears that
"Mama" will be smothering her love to the tune of $30.5 million,
which is already double its production budget. Andrés Muschietti has a few
missteps in his first outing as a director but "Mama" is a
surprisingly effective horror film, a shining beacon of light in a sea of
mediocre January releases. I look forward to seeing what he brings to the table
the next time he goes behind the camera.
Final
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
"A ghost is an emotion bent out of shape condemned to repeat itself time and time again."
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