“Bring Her Back” is Sally Hawkins at Her Nastiest
Grief can lead you down dark paths. Paths you don’t even know exist until you find yourself at the end of a rope, desperate for any sort of reprieve from the darkness that feels all-consuming. The lengths taken in Danny and Michael Philippou’s sophomore feature, Bring Her Back, are unlike any that have been seen on the big screen before. While visually more unnerving than their breakout Talk to Me, there’s a little less bite in their latest feature. But less bite for the Philippou siblings is still quite the mouthful of teeth.
courtesy of A24
Step-siblings Andy (Billy Barratt) and Piper (Sora Wong) have just experienced the loss of their father. They were the ones to find him dead on the floor of his bathroom. Now they find themselves in the foster care system. Andy is three months away from being a legal adult, but fights to stay with Piper as she is placed into Laura’s (Sally Hawkins) home. Piper is visually impaired, and Andy wants to make sure Laura is able to take care of her. Upon arriving at Laura’s home, the siblings meet another child in Laura’s care, her “selectively mute” nephew Oliver (Jonah Wren Phillips). It doesn’t take long for Andy to sense that Laura is not the loving caretaker she makes herself out to be.
In my review of Talk to Me two years ago, I said that what stood out above all else was the film’s bleakness. Leaving that theater left me with an overwhelming sense of emptiness and immediately became a favorite entry into the world of “Bleak Cinema.” While not an official genre, people are drawn to films that reach into the depths of your body and wreck you in a profound way. It reminds you how deep the spectrum of human emotions can stretch, but in a way that’s safe, that lingers but doesn’t scar. Bring Her Back was promised to stretch the bottom of that spectrum to a new level, but it’s missing the crushing, desolate weight that it needs to be the runaway success Talk to Me was.
courtesy of A24
Don’t be confused, though. Bring Her Back isn’t exactly a feel-good time at the cinema. There are moments that will make your stomach churn, cause you to jump backward in your seat, and even chuckle at the endearing sibling dynamic that provides the fuel Bring Her Back runs on. Barratt and Wong have the classic mean-yet-loving bickering any pair of siblings will recognize. Their bond is tested by Hawkins’ sickly sweet Laura. Hawkins is at times the loving mother, as she is in the Paddington films, and at other times she is dark, desperate, and angry. Not to be overlooked is Phillips, who spends much of the movie in silence, but still creates an ever-unnerving presence on the screen.
The Philippous have added another entry to the genre of Bleak Cinema. They’re two young filmmakers who seem to be quite comfortable in the world of misery and who want to know how far humans will go to see the one they love one more time. Bring Her Back is a nightmare that thrashes around in the pit of grief.
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