Direction: Stacey Gregg
Country: UK
In this mournful Northern Irish psychological drama thriller, a middle-aged woman (Andrea Riseborough) becomes convinced that the daughter (Niamh Dornan) of her new neighbors is the reincarnation of the daughter she lost a few years before in a car accident. Her husband (Jonjo O'Neill), incredulous about that idea, sees their lives turning upside down before his very eyes.
In this first feature film, writer-director Stacey Gregg manages to give the audience just enough, without going much beyond the expected. Still, she has the ability to involve us as the tension accumulates, and the film doesn’t end without a fine twist. Suspense-wise, Gregg attempts no improvement, but mounts everything with a firm hand: perfect pacing, supple camera work, and an intriguing plot that is purposely shy in bringing stuff into the fold, creating a pervasive deceptiveness that suits the film’s narrative interest.
Hence, what we have here is nothing transcendental nor mind-blowing; it’s just an exercise in mood that makes us believe we are stepping in supernatural terrain. It’s that sort of psychological puzzle interleaved with abrupt, rapid flashbacks meant to intrigue rather than horrify. Riseborough (Oblivion, 2013; Birdman, 2014), who proves to be a versatile actor, goes from grief-stricken to obsessive in a minute, while the haunting score by Adam Janota Bzowski (Saint Maud, 2019) makes everything feel slightly more disturbing.
