The Eternal Daughter

To this interesting movie. A foggy park and a sinister mansion, the evening sets in. A mother and her nervous daughter move in to a hotel, that seems empty. Later on you will understand why. There is some work to be done for us, the public. I like that. There is enough dialogue in our daily lives... The scenarist must have been busy erasing his lines. Or hers. Then suddenly an unexpected guest moves in and reliefs the tension. It changes your perspective and gets you ready for the ending. Well done there! And indeed, there's a little bit of John Cleese in there. Subtle and strange, yet heartwarming. Like TS.

A film with Tilda Swinton is always worth watching and so is this one! Though I have to say that I expected a little bit more after I read about the film at the Viennale (Vienna International Film Festival). What irritated me were the tags ghost story, supernatural, spooky and so on. Not that I expected a real horror movie, far from it. But not such a lame attempt of a ghost story.

The film starts out with a scene of a foggy country street and a lonely taxi coming along, quite evocative of old Hammer films of the sixties or early seventies. The main setting in an old country mansion turned hotel was a good choice. As was the rather unfriendly receptionist/waitress/housekeeper who raises a lot of questions in the mind of the viewer and is a highlight of the film. The mother and daughter conflict is very subtly done and evolves beautifully the longer they stay at the hotel, and the absence of other guests is quite unsettling.

But, being in a lonely hotel would make even completely relaxed people jumpy and here we have someone who is in a very difficult stage of her life and we could expect much more unusual things for her to hear or see other than what we get here. Tilda Swinton does her best to make us fell uncomfortable, but with this script there is not much to do. A little fog, some creaky trees and a shot of the moon, my, this is what you get in every other episode of Midsomer Murders, I am sorry to say! That is not upsetting or disturbing anymore, in fact it is a cliché and more of a parody. Besides, we all have seen films of people in empty hotels before and therefore you have to bring some new ideas to this setting.

When the film ended I was disappointed, there would have been chances to lead the viewer around but they are missed. I have guessed from the beginning what is reveiled at the end and that did not satisfy me either, I hoped that some twist eluded me, but no.

One effective way to tell a tale of suspense is to employ the atmospheric slowburn approach, one that quietly but chillingly sizzles as it leads up to what is eventually (and supposedly) a startling revelation. However, writer-director Joanna Hogg's attempt at pulling this off in her latest offering falls short, protractedly smoldering but never really catching fire. When a middle-aged English filmmaker and her aging mother (dual roles played by Tilda Swinton) pay a hoped-for nostalgic visit to a vintage country hotel that was once their extended family's manor house, they set their sights on their stay giving them a chance to relive fond memories and to resolve certain aspects of their complex, sometimes-distant relationship (an irony given the devoted daughter's earnest attempt at being a loving, dutiful caretaker). But, almost from the moment they arrive, things don't play out as anticipated; events unfold with a surreal, unfathomable awkwardness in a setting befitting a gothic ghost story. So what's going on here? That's what the film seeks to explain. Unfortunately, there's not a whole lot to tell here, the story ultimately being more tedious than suspenseful, frequently relying on astonished reaction shots to things that mysteriously go bump in the night to carry the story forward. And, when "the big reveal" finally comes, it emerges more with a whimper than a bang (especially since it's not particularly difficult to figure out what's coming anyway). While the film is stylistic to a fault in terms of skillfully creating a suitable ambiance, the accompanying narrative is rather anemic by comparison. It's almost as if the storyteller is spinning a vague yarn, one told with kid gloves, a nagging frustration for those expecting something with more of a bite to it. While there's a definite purpose behind this, given the picture's attempt at exploring elements of the mother-daughter relationship typically not addressed in films like this, this set of restrained attributes nevertheless inhibits this offering from ever developing much of an edge to it (yawn). To the film's credit, it features yet another fine performance by Swinton, but it's regrettable that she's not given much to work with. And, even with its comparatively short 1:36:00 runtime, the picture somehow manages to seem like it's far longer. Indeed, in this case, "eternal" is something applicable to more than just the wording of its title.

There's a hotel that's quite vacant and disturbed, full of ghosts that haunt themselves, it's quite absurd, lots of creepy mist and fog, a really, really lovely dog, and a receptionist presents with some discord. A daughter with her mother settle in, proceed to babble on, the dialogue's quite thin, if you'd made a reservation, you'd need more than just salvation, if you had the room next door, double or twin. There's little to engage or get you thinking, as events unfold, or don't, you'll just start blinking, then your eyelids slowly close, just like Louis you will repose, and into slumber, start to fall, gradually sinking.

This is not a horror or a mystery movie. This is a drama disguised as a drama/horror mystery. And that's why it fails.

Swinton is amazing as always. It's unreal how convincing she is playing both the mother and the daughter. I mean, i was moved by "their" relationship, these were adorable characters. I really felt their feelings for "each other" and that is kinda insane because the viewer forgets that they are the same person. Hence the 5 stars.

However, this is not a good movie. I didn't mind the slow pace, but this movie has the most unnecessary twist of all time. Unnecessary, illogical and, dare i say, conniving. Because there are some scenes that contradict this particular twist, during this movie. Most of the people see it coming from the beginning of the movie, but then, the director convince the viewer that they got it wrong. And in the end, the thing that most of the people suspected, happened. Without any logical or paranormal explanation. Thus, as a viewer i feel cheated and i can't rate it higher.

This would be a much better movie as an art drama. No twists, no surprises. Just a mother and a daughter, their relationship and their feelings. I would enjoy this movie. You have Tilda Swinton in your movie, you don't need twists and turns. Go full drama, realistic as it gets. Psychological drama-mystery horror is another genre, much more complicated than it seems.