Goodnight Mommy review: An intricate, seriously sinister film in the German language, but don’t let that put you off.
Goodnight Mommy review
Paranoia and mistrust form the basis of Goodnight Mommy. It’s an unsettling tale which sees family turn on each other in some disturbing ways. Our tale begins as the mother returns to the familiar home after undergoing cosmetic surgery. Her return is at first met with glee, but quickly turns sour as ‘Mama’ isn’t quite how Lukas and Elias remember. Things go from bad to worse and the boys find themselves the victims of what can only be termed as ‘extreme grounding.’
It isn’t all doom and gloom for the youngsters however, as they begin to put plans in motion to destroy the monster that their mother has become, and it is here that things get really interesting. Like any good story the tables are turned on the ‘big bad’ but in the case of Goodnight Mommy the ‘big bad’ may or may not be bad. This continuous ambiguity about the mother’s nature, coupled with the fact that for most of the run time she wears a full face mask obscuring her identity, make it an unsettling watch.
The young actors do a tremendous job and the fact that they are real life brothers helps add a realistic depth and connection. Several moments during the run time are spent with the viewer just observing the pair from afar and feel very much like accidental real moments caught on film via the b-roll. These scenes help enrich the bond between the brothers and draw the audience into the story. Goodnight Mommy goes to some very dark places and the boys prove a surprising maturity with their craft.
Goodnight Mommy is a seriously sinister film that should have careful and close attention paid to it. The duo Fiala and Franz have developed an intricate script and bursts onto the screen in an intoxicating way. The pace is slow and deliberate, building suspense, seeds of mistrust, and dissension from the opening moments. There’s also not a huge amount in the way of dialogue and I can’t recall a single scene that is dialogue heavy so there is no excuse to not give this German language film a whirl.
Goodnight Mommy review, by Kat Hughes, March 2016.
Goodnight Mommy opens in selected cinemas on Friday 4th March.
