Monday, August 20, 2018

MARROWBONE: FAMILY SECRETS



A group of siblings, a family in a secluded location and secrets left undiscussed have all been done before. Most famously many will recall FLOWERS IN THE ATTIC. Those who’ve been exposed to more movies will recall OUR MOTHER’S HOUSE, a movie I almost thought this was a remake of when reading the description. But that description wasn’t quite near as revealing as I thought it was before I began watching MARROWBONE.

A family of 5 recently arrived from England return to the secluded ancestral home of the mother. Once there she insist the family leave their past behind and change their name to Marrowbone. Each agrees and that past isn’t mentioned though it haunts them later in the film.

Decaying and in need of repair having long been abandoned, she is set to reclaim the home. Before she can do so she falls ill, spent from the trip of coming back from overseas. She succumbs to her illness but not before making her son Jack (George MacKay) pledge to keep safe and not let anyone know until he turns 21 and can then own the land himself. She also leaves behind a tin box with a secret. Before he can object she passes.

Not long after their mother’s passing a strange event occurs. While sitting at her desk writing in her journal, a gunshot rings out and shoots out a pane of glass in Jane’s room. She screams for Jack who shows. The children all look out the window and recognize the shooter. At this point the movie fast forwards 6 months.

Along with his siblings Jane (Mia Goth), Billy (Charlie Heaton) and Sam (Matthew Stagg) the family does what it takes to survive. Jane bakes items sold in the nearby town. The only one allowed to leave the estate is Jack to insure no eyes are laid on the family or questions asked. While there he meets up with Allie (Anya Taylor-Joy), the young girl who lives next door to the estate that he’s fallen in love with. Mutually it seems.

But another suitor continues to pursue Allie. Porter (Kyle Soller) is a local lawyer whose interest in Allie remains unreturned but never puts him off. Porter is responsible for helping the family by drawing up the papers for the ownership of the estate. He insists that Jack’s mother sign the papers in front of him as well as demanding a fee to do so.

With no choice the siblings must use the money that was in the tin box, ill-gotten gains from their father. What has become of him is as yet undetermined. Jack takes the money and keeps Porter at bay insisting his mother is too ill to see him face to face. With the help of Jane they forge her mother’s signature, pay Porter and send him on his way.

Odd things happen in the house. Noises and creaking boards permeate the air. Stains appear on the ceiling. And the children have hung sheets over all of the mirrors in the house. Sam, the youngest of the group, insist that these are to ward off the ghost that roams the house. But is it really? And what, if not a ghost, is making the noises? What secrets does the house truly possess?

From what little I knew of the film going in I was intrigued. What the end result was is a mixed bag. The pacing is slow at first and that can be off putting for some viewers. But don’t let that be the case. Stick with it and find out more as the film progresses. The end result is a movie that you’ll consider viewing a second time just to see what you missed the first.

I’ve read some reviews where those writing have said they knew what the inevitable outcome was going to be before the final reel of the film. I have to disagree. Yes, there were a few bits that I saw coming in advance. But not the biggest surprise of all nor the ending that takes place. Both elevated the movie in my eyes and left me reconsidering how good the movie was from what I thought during the first 30 minutes or so.

Ghosts or no ghosts? Murderers or no murderers? A secret past that follows a family or a newly created terror that fuels the story? Will love triumph of will it fail as so often is the case in movies these days? And will the ending actually provide a solution or more possibilities? The only way to find out is to watch MARROWBONE and decide for yourself. 

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