By MICHAEL GINGOLD
Starring Max Eigenmann, Jaeden Paige Boadilla and Leanne Best
Written and directed by Paris Zarcilla
Blue Finch Films
Movies that extrapolate the tensions of the immigrant experience into horror territory have become a bit of a cottage industry within the genre in recent years, exemplified by the superb HIS HOUSE three years ago. Like that film, RAGING GRACE is set in Britain, though it navigates a different course in its story specifics. And it, too, is a frightening and riveting combination of deeply personal drama and a serious creep factor.
Making its Canadian premiere at the current Fantasia International Film Festival (where it has an encore screening next Tuesday, August 1) after winning the Grand Jury Award at this year’s SXSW, RAGING GRACE stars Max Eigenmann as Joy, who is facing the daily challenges of being an undocumented immigrant working housekeeping gigs in London. One particular issue she faces is keeping her little daughter Grace (Jaeden Paige Boadilla) a secret from her employers/hosts; when she moves into the large, well-appointed home of Katherine (Leanne Best), Joy has to hide her child in a suitcase. Beyond the cooking, cleaning and general upkeep, Katherine has another task for Joy: making sure her cancer-ridden uncle Nigel (David Hayman), confined to an upstairs bed in an all-but-comatose state, gets his daily medication.
Right from the start, writer/director Paris Zarcilla establishes an oppressive feeling about this situation that goes beyond the tone with which Katherine addresses Joy, which is friendly on the surface but never lets Joy forget who’s the boss. Though the mansion is rife with opulence, cinematographer Joel Honeywell shoots the interiors in hushed visual tones creating the sense that they’re never as well-lit as they could be. The feeling that all is not quite right in the house is leavened by well-timed moments of comedic tension as Grace sneaks in and out of rooms, trying to avoid Katherine’s detection. A curious and mischievous girl who chafes at having to sleep in wardrobes and other hiding places, Grace slips out late one night, and witnesses odd behavior on Katherine’s part suggesting she has a dark secret or two…
And more should not be discussed about RAGING GRACE’s storyline, which goes into a number of unexpected places that reveal surprising and shocking things about some of its characters. What can be said is that Zarcilla makes a standout feature filmmaking debut with RAGING GRACE, demonstrating both a command of atmospherics and the willingness and ability to plumb the darkest sides of human nature. And he expertly weaves his horrific narrative into an exploration of uncomfortable truths about British (indeed, any) society, and how it treats people just trying to make a living and better themselves. Confronted by condescension and a lack of sympathy by everyone from her hirers to a fixer who can get her a work visa but only for a stiff price, Joy forges through her day-to-day existence with an eye on a brighter future. A major development midway through the story seems to suggest that things are going to get better, but…
Again, no fair revealing too much, other than to say that RAGING GRACE’s horrors grow naturally and inexorably out of the characters Zarcilla has established. They are put across via terrific performances by the three leads: Eigenmann, who grabs our sympathies from the beginning and conveys great depths of both compassion and intelligence; Boadillo, evincing talent well beyond her years as a girl young enough to not fully understand her mother’s situation, but old enough to be defiant about wanting it to change; and Best, who makes Katherine a quietly domineering everyday monster, a woman who knows and exploits the power she has over Joy. We really get to know this trio as people, so that when RAGING GRACE slides into truly disturbing territory, it not only makes complete dramatic sense but packs an extra emotional punch. At either festivals or hopefully wider release in the future, it’s one of the year’s must-sees.
