After a serious accident in which her husband was killed, a mother is left alone with her two rambunctious twin boys. Having extensive reconstructive surgery, the woman has just returned home to her two young boys, with her face still entirely wrapped in bandages as she recovers from the surgery. Stressed and heartbroken, the mother's behavior is somewhat erratic, which in turn leads her two young sons to believe she isn't actually their mother, but an imposter attempting to steal her family away. Veronika Franz & Severin Fiala's Goodnight Mommy is a simple story that quickly takes a sinister turn. Macabre and deeply twisted, Goodnight Mommy follows a power struggle that unfolds between mother and sons, with each vying to regain control of their shattered family unit. Goodnight Mommy is a film that strives for more than the macabre, attempting to paint a portrait of grief and trauma, but unfortunately it struggles with its more astute dramatic observations. This is a film that works best as an unsettling experience, delivering a few truly unforgettable scenes that are almost guaranteed to make you squirm in your seat. In fact, there is still a lot to like about Goodnight Mommy, with the film doing a great job at manipulating perceptions. Early on in the film the point-of-view is clearly from the perspective of the two twin boys, with Goodnight Mommy doing a convincing job at making the viewer believe what the two children believe - this is not their mother. Later on there is a massive point-of-view shift, with the mother becoming a much more sympathetic character - a woman whose strange, almost violent actions towards her children are nothing more than the work of an overwhelmed widow who is struggling to move on from the trauma of losing her husband. Visually impressive, Goodnight Mommy's heavy use of symmetrical framing is a brilliant decision, effectively foreshadowing the conclusion of the film in a subtle way. While Goodnight Mommy's exploration of grief and trauma is rather vapid and rushed, the film is unquestionable well-made, delivering an unsettling experience that is a lot of fun.
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AuthorLove of all things cinema brought me here. Archives
June 2023
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