MOVIE OF THE WEEK (1/18/13): MAMA
KEY CAST MEMBERS: Jessica Chastain, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Daniel Kash, Megan Charpentier, Isabelle Nélisse and Javier Botet
WRITER(S): Neil Cross, Andy and Barbara Muschietti
WRITER(S): Neil Cross, Andy and Barbara Muschietti
DIRECTOR: Andy Muschietti
THE PLOT: Executive produced by Guillermo del Toro (Hellboy, Pan's Labyrinth), Mama stars Jessica Chastain (The Help, Zero Dark Thirty) as Annabel, a Virginia-based would be rock musician who is enjoying life with her boyfriend Lucas (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau). That nice, happy existence, however, is thrown for a loop when Lucas' nieces Victoria (Megan Charpentier) and Lily (Isabelle Nélisse) are found – alive – in the woods 5 years after going missing.
You see, the girls' father Jeffrey (also played by Coster-Waldau) had an ... Incident ... Which resulted in his unexplained disappearance and the girls' being left to fend for themselves after crashing in the woods. The thing is, however, the girls didn't survive in the woods by their selves for all those years. They had someone – or something, rather – watching over them.
That would be the force they simply referred to as "Mama" (Javier Botet) – and once the girls are found, Mama might be coming with them.
Annabel, Lucas and the girls eventually move into a house where the Dr. Dreyfuss (Daniel Kash) can keep a close watch on them and continue digging into just who is this "mama" person Victoria keeps referring to in her hypnotherapy sessions. But as he gets closer to the truth, the more peril he may soon be in ... And once Annabel is left to take care of the girls by herself, she soon, too, may learn mama doesn't take too kindly to someone trying to take her place ...
You see, the girls' father Jeffrey (also played by Coster-Waldau) had an ... Incident ... Which resulted in his unexplained disappearance and the girls' being left to fend for themselves after crashing in the woods. The thing is, however, the girls didn't survive in the woods by their selves for all those years. They had someone – or something, rather – watching over them.
That would be the force they simply referred to as "Mama" (Javier Botet) – and once the girls are found, Mama might be coming with them.
Annabel, Lucas and the girls eventually move into a house where the Dr. Dreyfuss (Daniel Kash) can keep a close watch on them and continue digging into just who is this "mama" person Victoria keeps referring to in her hypnotherapy sessions. But as he gets closer to the truth, the more peril he may soon be in ... And once Annabel is left to take care of the girls by herself, she soon, too, may learn mama doesn't take too kindly to someone trying to take her place ...
THE TAKE: If you're not familiar with the work of Del Toro or only watch the film's trailer, you might walk into Mama expecting some Ring-type experience full of scary moments. Thus, if that's what you are in fact hoping for, let me stop you now: This is not a movie like that. Sure, there are some 'creepy' or 'jump' moments (which are common in most horror movies these days), but overall Mama is a story about a situation and not a "scary" movie in the traditional sense of the word.
While Chastain and her young female co-stars do a solid job acting-wise throughout the film, the story itself is someone predictable with weak male characters that don't add to much of anything (save for a small body count). Also, given the film's reliance upon other horror movie staples – the creepy child, the wronged spirit out for revenge to make things right in its mind – Mama doesn't really break any new ground.
But back to the overall film itself – Mama is billed as a supernatural thriller – not a 'horror' movie. That means the film is more into exploring a story, how the spirit world is interacting with the physical world and the bonds of what 'family' constitutes among the character's journey ... Along with occasional scare/fright. If that's what you're looking for, you'll find it in Mama although it will be quite familiar to what you've already seen in other movies of its nature dozens of times before. If you're looking for a horror movie, you might want to invest in something else ... Even if nothing of any significance has been out in theaters in a while.
While Chastain and her young female co-stars do a solid job acting-wise throughout the film, the story itself is someone predictable with weak male characters that don't add to much of anything (save for a small body count). Also, given the film's reliance upon other horror movie staples – the creepy child, the wronged spirit out for revenge to make things right in its mind – Mama doesn't really break any new ground.
But back to the overall film itself – Mama is billed as a supernatural thriller – not a 'horror' movie. That means the film is more into exploring a story, how the spirit world is interacting with the physical world and the bonds of what 'family' constitutes among the character's journey ... Along with occasional scare/fright. If that's what you're looking for, you'll find it in Mama although it will be quite familiar to what you've already seen in other movies of its nature dozens of times before. If you're looking for a horror movie, you might want to invest in something else ... Even if nothing of any significance has been out in theaters in a while.
PARTING SHOT: A film that isn't quite what many will likely expect to be getting upon entering theater, Mama is a well-done but, save for the most diehard fan of the supernatural, ultimately disappointing experience.
RATING (OUT OF FOUR BUCKETS OF POPCORN):
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