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niyiakin
Reviews
The Attachment (2016)
A different exploration of evil
I particularly liked this film and wanted to wait a few weeks before reviewing it in order to see if the first impression persisted.
It was actually refreshing to see a film set on the streets of the normal East End of London that common folk walk along, rather than the super stylised gritty sets of some films or the downright dark melancholy of others. Add to that the authentic accents heard on the streets every day, spoken by actors who look like the people one might see on a day to day basis suddenly leaves one thinking this paranormal film looks like something any of us might experience. It also came out in the week of the British Brexit vote so it was politically exciting to see how it celebrated the diversity of the melting pot that is the current East London. I liked how the actors played the roles of people who exist in their own right and were not cast to reflect the stereotypes normally doled out by those who have probably never spent any quality time in the East End. Even the main 'heroine' was allowed to be someone who deviated from the normal self-absorbed southern stereotype. The engaging northern intellectual worked brilliantly and showed the film dares to break from the shrink wrapped norm.
You can see the depth of thought the director has put into the film when one notices some of the little things seemingly slipped in. I'll try to avoid spoilers but for example a significant number of the students in the paranormal lecture seemed to write using the sinister side. Who would have thought of that? Also there is the subtle but hilarious moment when the priest gently explains to the hipster why evil might not need to choose him and so on. Even social services and public servants do not escape the director's acerbic examination.
The director goes on to imprint some subliminal messages about the concept of young people being followers and how supremely gormless it looks. He then does a competent job of exploring the concept of eternal evil by portraying a malign force that has no concept of time and perhaps is, in a quasi-McCarthyist manner, quite possibly everywhere. He showed a demonic force that exhibits a staggering indifference to urgency or even winning or losing. In essence the actress who played the Attachment and the director gave us food for thought about the inexorable and seemingly miserable nature of being an eternal malignant spirit that had to eventually get its harvest at some point even if it had to wait many human generations. This was a very thoughtful anthropomorphistic portrayal of a lonely force dwelling outside of our space time continuum.
There were lots of subtle and humorous nods to other film concepts, you could if you want to tick off all of the other films and then debate over it afterwards. Also there are little quirks that kept the film looking authentically indie. On the budget it was made this is a gem. The task for the director is not to lose his originality and innocence in future films.
I thoroughly enjoyed the film. It leaves one wanting to watch it again as you suspect there are so many messages that might have been missed. The fun bits in the film leave one having to work out whether one is on edge or actually becoming comfortable with the possibility of demonic forces.
Hmmm! An Indie director has made a film that might leave the watchers comfortable with the possibility of demonic attachment - now isn't that a frightening thought?