Goodnight Mommy
Goodnight Mommy
In a lonesome house in the countryside between woods and cornfields live nine-year-old twin brothers who are waiting for their mother in the heat of summer. When she comes home, bandaged after cosmetic surgery, nothing is like before. The children start to doubt that this woman is actually their mother. An existential struggle for identity and fundamental trust emerges.
rg9400 reviewedNovember 1, 2024
I have now seen 3 movies by Severin Fiala and Veronika Franz. I had similar issues with all of their movies. I think they really struggle to build moment-to-moment tension and suspense, causing a noticeable lack of atmosphere. Their concepts and themes are interesting, and after finishing the movie and stepping away, I often found myself thinking it was a clever way that it all worked out. However, they try so hard to mislead the viewer and keep their last-minute secrets hidden that it often does a disservice to the actual core themes and character relationships that lie at the heart of each movie. I thought Goodnight Mommy was middle of the pack in their filmography because it suffers from all of these issues without making up for it in other ways. The central mystery isn't too hidden, but the movie tries to keep playing with it until the very end, often not actually examining the way the twins and the mothers used to interact or their past to really highlight why the current situation feels so awkward. This is the problem with these filmmakers. Even though there are interesting subversions throughout their filmography that could lead to strong questions about family structures, they never want to actually delve into those topics. The acting is solid and there is some more gore, so it is at least more engaging as The Devil's Bath, but it lacks the more unique aspects of The Lodge.