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| Katherine (Samantha Morton) losing it in The Harvest (2013) |
John McNaughton has made some pretty intense films. The last film of his I saw, Wild Things (1998) was really nuts. So I shouldn't have expected any less from his latest, The Harvest (2013). The beauty of the Fantasia Film Festival is that directors show up for Q & As after the screening and tend to really enhance the film's experience. Without John McNaughton's wry humor and pointed contextualizing, I would not be as respectful of the film as I am. Still, this film has serious, serious problems.
McNaughton's film is a twisted fairy tale about over-protective and abusive parents, terrible marriages, sick kids, and intrepid young teens fighting against adults who just don't understand. Oh, and Peter Fonda plays "The Grandfather."
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| Katherine and Richard (Michael Shannon) are a hot mess |
The film opens with a kid being knocked senseless by a baseball hit, and then Katherine, a pediatric surgeon, swooping in and saving his life. She seems to perform these feats regularly, with Richard as a stay-at-home Dad who takes care of their sickly kid, Andy. (Richard was formerly a NURSE, which may be how this dyfunctional couple met, but is now just a reminder of how essentially emasculated he is here).
Their son has been sick since birth, and they have him on a somewhat hinky experimental drug regimen that makes him tired, bed-ridden, and barely functioning.
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| Andy (Charlie Tahan) must do his homework so he can be a doctor, not a nurse |
Both Mom and Dad are really strict though, and make sure that Andy does his home-schooled homework. Everything goes pear-shaped when a spunky girl, Maryann (Natasha Calis), moves in a mile away and starts skulking around their house, peeking in the windows. She has recently lost her parents in an accident, and is living with her grandparents, one of which is played by Peter Fonda (who says "Far out" several times, in case we do not know who he is). Maryann is looking for a friend, and for the sake of the plot, she latches onto Andy after seeing him through his bedroom window.
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| pint-sized creeper Maryann |
I don't know, you just kind of have to go with it. Things become very Hansel and Gretel soon afterward, as Katherine does not want Andy to have any friends, and does her best to be creepy and menacing a la evil witch. Someone yelled "Bitch" out loud in the theater, unsurprising for Samantha Morton succeeds in this fairly thankless, cliched role. Things get crazier and there's a pretty decent twist towards the end, but the hoary gender tropes are mostly irritating.
During the Q & A, one fellow said, "I've seen so many scary things at this festival--vampires, werewolves, etc.--but nothing scares me more than the psychotic middle-aged Mom." Yeah, dude, that's kind of the problem. I would have loved to see a little more nuance to these characters, and for something to be at stake more than "CHILDREN ARE IN PERIL!" With two fine actors like Morton and Shannon on-board, one would hope for more, but she's a screeching Gorgon and he's some kind of sad kicked dog who flinches all the time. Then I remind myself that this guy directed Wild Things, which also seemed so utterly nutso, that I just should expect no less from a John McNaughton film.
Many times during the screening, people laughed at seemingly "unfunny" moments. Sure, moments of levity are often necessary in a very dark story, but giving the kid mini-marshmellows in his cocoa, or Richard getting dressed after having sex with an adoring drug rep--hilarious! I did find myself laughing and shaking my head at Katherine much of the time. Her temper tantrums were so epic, they just elicited chuckles and guffaws. Samantha Morton must have needed a serious vacation after this film. McNaughton pointed out that most female actors did not want to touch this role, especially those with kids. Gee, no kidding. BTW, Morton has a couple of kids. I'm thinking that she should show them this film as a kind of cautionary tale--don't piss Mommy off.
The director, during the Q & A, referenced fairy tales and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, and those kernels are there, but they are relatively buried under a histrionic Jody Picoult novel. Eh. I'd give it a pass.
Many times during the screening, people laughed at seemingly "unfunny" moments. Sure, moments of levity are often necessary in a very dark story, but giving the kid mini-marshmellows in his cocoa, or Richard getting dressed after having sex with an adoring drug rep--hilarious! I did find myself laughing and shaking my head at Katherine much of the time. Her temper tantrums were so epic, they just elicited chuckles and guffaws. Samantha Morton must have needed a serious vacation after this film. McNaughton pointed out that most female actors did not want to touch this role, especially those with kids. Gee, no kidding. BTW, Morton has a couple of kids. I'm thinking that she should show them this film as a kind of cautionary tale--don't piss Mommy off.
The director, during the Q & A, referenced fairy tales and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, and those kernels are there, but they are relatively buried under a histrionic Jody Picoult novel. Eh. I'd give it a pass.
