I had the privilege of seeing this at a film festival in Chicago, where the director--Patricia Rozema--gave a Q&A session after the credits rolled. Before walking in, all I knew was that it starred Ellen Page and Evan Rachel Wood--actresses whom I thought were talented as is-- and that it was a "post-apocalyptic" film.
However, rather than zombies or nuclear fallout wiping out humankind, what I saw was an emotionally powerful story of how two sisters enter a new world while discarding an old one; through this process, I saw some of the most believable character arcs thanks to Page and Wood's incredible performances.
The set-up is deceptively simple: a house in an isolated forest. Rozema used this setting to evoke moods of both tension, beauty, and fear. The scenes were beautifully shot and accompanied by an equally beautiful score by Max Richter. I found the sisters' interaction with the house and surrounding forest to be incredibly engaging throughout.
There are no cataclysmic doomsday scenes here; no cracks in the earth swallowing up humanity. If you want to see a film like that, there are plenty to choose from. But if you want to instead see a film that makes you feel raw emotions and reflect as you watch the sisters' transformation in a time of adversity, then I can't recommend this film enough.
However, rather than zombies or nuclear fallout wiping out humankind, what I saw was an emotionally powerful story of how two sisters enter a new world while discarding an old one; through this process, I saw some of the most believable character arcs thanks to Page and Wood's incredible performances.
The set-up is deceptively simple: a house in an isolated forest. Rozema used this setting to evoke moods of both tension, beauty, and fear. The scenes were beautifully shot and accompanied by an equally beautiful score by Max Richter. I found the sisters' interaction with the house and surrounding forest to be incredibly engaging throughout.
There are no cataclysmic doomsday scenes here; no cracks in the earth swallowing up humanity. If you want to see a film like that, there are plenty to choose from. But if you want to instead see a film that makes you feel raw emotions and reflect as you watch the sisters' transformation in a time of adversity, then I can't recommend this film enough.