The film maintains a consistent sense of mystery about the nature of relationships and families and destinies, especially regarding women who do more than simply fit into a norm (although, inevitably, its sympathy ultimately seems with the path of non-conformity, whatever the risks): it's also beautifully ambiguous about what relative values are being assigned to the various pathways on display here. It's characteristic of the movie's subtlety that the degree of Ruthie's self-determination is never quite clear given the character's extreme undemonstrativeness - the end may represent an (albeit innocent) form of coercion by Lahti. Even if so though, that's still a manifestation of family and of the way structures arise and endure, and as such seems at peace with the film's river-like tranquility and evocation of old myths (the train that went into the lake; the grandfather's obsession with mountains); the movie is also good at creating present-day images that look like the stuff of FUTURE legend (the flooded house; the night they spend out on the lake). Lahti's clever portrayal (unconventional, almost too honest at times even as she recedes as others) is perfectly suited to embodying the theme of a threat embodied by difference, regardless of its nature. This is surely Forsyth's most accomplished film.
Review of Housekeeping
