Resurrection Movie Review

The only folks who can fully understand the bond between a mother and her child, or a daughter to her mom, is a mother. Or a daughter. I’m admittedly neither. The fact that the themes and messages of Resurrection gave me the feelings they did speaks volumes for the film itself. I want to give due nods to the cast and crew of this movie. Holy shit, Rebecca Hall and her performance as Margaret, a mother struggling with a brutal and cunning figure from her past (played by Tim Roth). Grace Kaufman, who plays Margaret’s daughter Abbie, also very much brings to life a character who is staring down the barrel of grownup-ness. She brings dimension to a time of life that I recall with tremored abandon: when adulthood is so close you can smell it, and such a mystery that surely no one, especially not any dumbass parent, could possibly understand. 18 and life? You got it.

But Abbie’s balance on the brink of adulthood is clearly resurfacing a cache of emotions for Margaret, which seem to coincide with the re-emergence of a certain figure. A man. Seen in the shadows. David. He seems to be everywhere Margaret looks. Sitting in the park on her way to work. At the grocery store. Leaving things in her daughter’s handbag. Yup. He’s slithering closer and closer. Watching her we can see a visceral reaction, and said reaction illustrates volumes of something dark, wicked, something Margaret knows well, and has been trying with desperation to suppress.

A little bit about Margaret. She’s a single mother and a complete badass at Biotech Rising. She has complex relationships with some of her co-workers, which may be partially explained by Margaret’s past. She used to draw, but gave up the life of an artist to pursue that of an executive. We soon learn that the artist within isn’t the only thing that Margaret is trying to forget. This all draws complexities when it comes to her relationship with Abbie.

Margaret and her daughter’s connection has elements that are wont to reign amongst many mothers and their daughters who are 17-going-on-18. There is a palpable tumult underlining their respect for one another’s needs. There are also loaded casks of misunderstanding, and Abbie has grown to think her mom’s gone batshit bonkers.

As the movie progresses and this David character begins to circle closer to Margaret and Abbie, we learn more of Margaret’s past and the tragic ugliness therein. More so, we learn of David’s presence in her past, and the hold he once had on her. This begins to rear its ugly head more and more until Margaret is forced to reveal her true self to her daughter.

This movie has a great use of detail, and the acting is both subtle and explosive. Rebecca Hall is another of my favorite actors and she brings a cavalcade of emotion and dimension to her characters. She’s shown herself to take any movie to another level, and I absolutely love her work in the realms of horror. Tim Roth is one of my favorite actors, and his role as a villain gave me chills.

With so much going on in the plot and theme, Resurrection is the kind of film that brings with it multiple interpretations. Watch it with your mom for an emotionally interactive experience.