Grace

Grace

2009

Directed by Paul Solet

I missed Grace at the Toronto After Dark film festival, and have been looking forward to seeing it for quite a while. It was billed as more or less a zombie baby movie, but my early thoughts of a mother-daughter Basket Case-style romp were tempered by some rather sober reviews.

The story revolves around Madeline (Jordan Ladd), a pregnant woman whose unborn child dies after a car accident. She decides to bring the child to term nonetheless, with the help of her midwife, Patricia (Samantha Ferris). The stillborn child mysteriously revives, but it isn't normal - or at least, I've never heard of any babies who require human blood to live. Madeline's husband dies in the accident, but her intrusive mother-in-law Vivian (Gabrielle Rose, I remember her from an episode of Battlestar Galactica!) still tries to pry into her life with the kid (Grace is her name), creepily hoping to replace her dead son by taking custody of Grace.

Grace is impeccably directed, a stylistic tour de force. Solet's tendency toward restraint and understatement create a singularly discomfitting experience for the viewer. Backed by a spare, chilling musical score, the camera jumps from bizarre perspectives to uncomfortably intimate close-ups, but the overall tone is one of cool detachment. Solet is very successful at making Grace an extremely nuanced film; aside from the unsavoury nature of Grace's appetite and of Madeline's unquestioning loyalty and love for her, all of the other characters in the film have similarly unsettling obsessions. Solet's restraint renders many of these unhealthy yens implicit; yet they are disturbing all the same.

The acting is similarly understated, but on the whole quite good. Ladd masterfully portrays Madeline's resigned helplessness in the face of her situation. Rose also gives a solid performance, cold and brittle, and yet quietly desperate for her lost bond with her dead son.

It's hard to imagine how Grace could have been improved upon. However, while technically superb, the film is difficult to watch and not very entertaining. On the whole it's a dour and humourless affair. Not that one would expect a lot of laughs, considering the subject material, but I am reminded of the excellent Norwegian vampire film Let the Right One In, which explored a bloodthirsty child and her caretaker with a wry sense of humour. Grace is more interested in creating an unpleasant feeling in the stomach. While nothing outright scary happens, the whole movie is creepy and uncomfortable, and not in a good way. I can't say I would be interested in seeing it a second time... ever.

Although I enjoy challenging material, I still think that the goal of the cinema is ultimately to entertain. Grace wasn't bad, but it certainly fails in that respect. Then again, I also detest babies, so I wonder why I even bothered to watch it in the first place.

5.0