Movie Review The Babadook

The Babadook (2014) 

Directed by Jennifer Kent

Written by Jennifer Kent 

Starring Essie Davis 

Release Date May 22nd, 2014 

Published November 24th, 2014

Awards, I realize, do not matter to the actual quality of a movie. Quality is a subjective trait related to the person assessing such. That said, I wish to begin the most unlikely Oscar campaign of the year for Australian actress Essie Davis in “The Babadook.” “The Babadook” is a horror movie that may or may not play on the cliché elements of movies about demons and possession but Ms. Davis and indeed the film itself put the clichés to great use and for a larger, more thoughtful purpose.

“The Babadook” stars Davis as Amelia, a put upon single mom dealing with an increasingly troubled child. Amelia’s son Samuel (Noah Wiseman), like many children, believes he has a monster under his bed. This fact has kept his mother up late many nights in attempts at reassurance. Samuel’s monster takes on a name from a bizarre children’s book that Amelia does not recall having purchased, ‘The Babadook.’

‘The Babadook’ is not, in fact, a children’s book but rather an illustration of upcoming events that will change as events change in the home. This, of course, is not a new concept in horror but there is a twist here that only the observant audience member will be able to pick up on. What’s truly clever about “The Babadook” the film is how this book and all of the varying cliches of possession/demon horror movies are routed to a single emotional point, the death of Amelia’s husband on the day that Amelia gave birth to Samuel.

There is a very big, very complicated metaphor at play in “The Babadook.” Many mother’s struggle to connect with their own child. For Amelia, her son’s life is tied inextricably to the day her husband died. Thus, the seemingly supernatural elements of “The Babadook” take on a psychological weight allowing us to wonder if indeed Amelia is being menaced from without or within.

On a filmmaking level, “The Babadook” is exceptionally well crafted. The set design and lighting are incredibly evocative and compelling in their deep dark grays and blacks. I also loved the architecture of the home which feels cramped when necessary and overly expansive when its time for a character to make a getaway.

The sound design and character creation of “The Babadook” is wonderfully terrifying as well. The image of the character ‘The Babadook’ is a perfect picture of a childhood nightmare all sharp edges and darkness.  The character seems modeled on Max Schreck’s Nosferatu with a little bit of Danny Devito’s take on The Penguin in “Batman Returns.”

The film ultimately boils down to just how much you believe in Essie Davis’s performance. I believed it completely. Davis does an extraordinarily complex bit of work here calling on some very difficult emotional damage to achieve just the right effect. Davis is portraying a mother who’s ambivalent about her son, still grief stricken over the loss of her husband six years later, and is, late in the film, clearly losing her grip on reality. That’s a large number of beats to be played and Davis is exceptionally in tune throughout.

Based on the title and premise I didn’t want to bother with “The Babadook.” I assumed I had seen this movie before in a dozen other horror movies. That’s true to an extent but “The Babadook” transcends the genre trash because it is exceptionally well directed by Jennifer Kent and because Essie Davis delivers what is arguably the best performance by any actress this year. That she’s done so within the strictures of the horror genre only elevates her triumph.

Movie Review Girl With a Pearl Earring

Girl with a Pearl Earring (2004) 

Directed by Peter Webber 

Written by Olivia Hetreed 

Starring Scarlett Johansson, Colin Firth, Tom Wilkinson, Cillian Murphy, Essie Davis 

Release Date January 16th, 2004 

Published January 15th, 2004 

A surprising amount of information is known about master painter Johannes Vermeer. He was born, raised, and lived his entire life in Delft in the Netherlands. He married in 1653, had 12 children and created 35 works of art that have managed to survive to this day. His most well-known and well-regarded painting is The Girl With A Pearl Earring. The film inspired by that painting is a fictionalized account of the life of the girl who inspired the masterwork.

Scarlett Johannsen stars as Griet, a handmaiden sent to work in the home of the artist Vermeer played by Colin Firth. The master painter has gained a good reputation and the unending regard of a wealthy patron Van Ruijven (Tom Wilkinson). It is Van Ruijven that makes Vermeer and his family's lifestyle possible by buying each of his paintings. It's not a perfect relationship; Van Ruijven is troubled by the length of time it takes the artist to complete his work, and Vermeer is uncomfortable with his patron’s demanding commissions.

Griet comes to work for the Vermeer family and immediately catches the eye of Van Rutjien. Charged with cleaning the artist’s studio, she also catches the eye of the artist but not entirely the way you might think. The relationship between Griet and Vermeer has tension but it remains chaste for the most part. Nevertheless Vermeer's wife Catharina (Essie Davis) is endlessly suspicious of the relationship.

That relationship is stressed further when Van Ruijven commissions Vermeer to paint Griet for his private collection. Van Ruijven has a history of sleeping with Vermeer's models, a scandalous series of affairs that the painter and his family are forced to cover up from Van Ruijven's wife. Handling most of the cover up is Catharina's mother, Maria Thins (Judy Parfitt), who acted as Vermeer's agent. Griet is able to avoid the advances of Van Ruijven but her problems don't end there as her modeling must be kept from Vermeer's wife.

The drama of Girl With A Pearl Earring is somewhat thin by modern standards. In the day and age of Monica Lewinsky and the tabloid exploits of the British Royal family, social standing is a rather quaint concern. The tension between Griet and Catharina is undermined a great deal by the fragile and passionless performance by Essie Davis. Her whining about the handmaiden wearing her pearl earring doesn't register the impact that I'm sure screenwriter Olivia Hetreed intended. That may be about the writer not establishing the symbolism of the earrings, but mostly it's Davis's performance that fails the material. The performance needs a little more life and energy. 

Colin Firth also fails, but that is because he is badly miscast as Vermeer. Wearing one of the least convincing wigs of all time, Firth's very British stiff upper lip betrays the bohemian artist type he is supposed to be playing. His face is a cold mask that communicates little inner life. Firth's Vermeer takes no joy in his work, seems to live in a constant funk, and never shows the potency that was obvious in the life of the real Vermeer who turned out 35 impressive works and 12 children.

The film's bright spot is Scarlett Johannsen whose gorgeous saucer eyes communicate a rich inner life that is fascinating with no need for words. Indeed it is a mostly wordless performance; Johannsen's Griet is a silent servant who always follows orders. Things happen around her and she merely tries to do her duty without making waves. That may not sound exciting, but with Johannsen's wonderfully expressive face it is truly fascinating. Like the characters surrounding her, you desperately want to know what is going on inside her and yet she hardly says a word.

First time feature director Peter Webber, who's wife Olivia Hetreed adapted the script, makes the bold choice not to use voiceover. A bold choice because Griet, the main character, barely speaks a word. Most writers and directors would use voiceover to fill in dramatic plot points but Webber and Hetreed trust their star to communicate what is needed with her eyes and they got exactly what they needed from Johannsen.

This is Johannsen's second star-making performance in less than 12 months--the first was an even better performance in Lost In Translation. This is both a career blessing and a curse. A blessing because few actresses get the opportunity to give two terrific performances in one year, a curse because she will have to compete against herself for Oscar nominations. Either performance is deserving of recognition but her performance in Girl With A Pearl Earring is certainly more complicated because the film surrounding it isn't as good as she is.