Move over Connor, I’m taking over your critiques! Hey everyone, it’s your girl Megan and welcome to my very first film review! The holidays are here and while I am a true sucker for the Christmas classics, I sometimes like to dabble into other genres. I recently got to watch Kindred, a 2020 British psychological thriller directed by Joe Marcantonio. If you have read any of my comic reviews, then you know that horror runs in my veins and I’d like to think I am quite the aficionado when it comes to scary movies. But it has been a while since I have seen a decent indie thriller and I wanted to give this movie a shot! It felt great to watch something that was produced this year since the pandemic has severely limited production of new releases. This film was released on November 6th, 2020 and stars Tamara Lawrence (Steve McQueen’s Small Axe: Education) Fiona Shaw (Harry Potter series, Killing Eve), and Jack Lowden (Dunkirk). There will also be a link to the movie, in case you would like to watch it! Alright y’all, let’s dive into this review!
STORY: 8/10
Young couple Ben and Charlotte seem like they are happy in love together and give quite the charming impression as partners together. They even have big plans to move out of the country, much to the disappointment of his mother, Margaret. Early into the film, we are introduced to our first conflict: Charlotte finds out she is pregnant. Their perfect love story abruptly ends when Ben dies suddenly from a fatal accident. She finds herself forced into the care of Margaret and Ben’s stepbrother Thomas whose kind actions turn to be most disturbing. As Charlotte’s pregnancy develops, she begins to experience nightmarish hallucinations that I found unsettling yet riveting all at once. But as the days go by and her visions intensify and become more menacing, she begins to doubt the family’s intentions and her suspicions grow that they may be trying to control her and her unborn baby through wicked and malicious means. One criticism that I do have with this movie is that creepy families that are manipulative and somewhat evil are a common theme in most psychological thrillers/horror motion pictures. So while it had a unique plot, I did find myself automatically trying to assume what happens rather than letting the movie surprise me. This is why I couldn’t give it a perfect score.
ACTING: 10/10
I absolutely loved each actor’s portrayal of their characters! It was refreshing to see newer faces come to the screen, and of course, there are some recognizable faces like Fiona Shaw who absolutely nails every single persona she depicts, especially the creepy mother-in-law she plays in this film. Her crazy ticks and reactions raised all of the red flags and I found myself exclaiming, “Oh hell no!” numerous times at the screen while I was watching the conflict grow between her and Tamara Lawrence who plays our tortured Charlotte. All three of the main characters had amazing on-screen chemistry together that flowed flawlessly throughout the film. You can’t help but feel empathy and sympathy for Charlotte because she is so agonized throughout the whole film, and you witness the psychological warfare thrust on her as she bends and breaks at the will of Margaret and Thomas. She is purely and utterly alone, her soul is anguishing before our very eyes. It sounds so dreary, but this perfectly describes the raw emotion given by each actor’s strong performances. Bravo to the cast!
OVERALL: 8/10
From its beautiful imagery that shows every color’s personality and makes a nightmare vision look fantastical, to the music that speaks for each scene even when there was no dialogue and for its effortless grasp on your psyche that will pull you in and I promise you won’t want to take your eyes off of your screen. It’s a solid eight out of ten; most of my enjoyment with the film went to the acting and to the incredible cinematography.
Megan’s Final Thoughts:
I highly recommend this movie to all mature audiences! I admit, it is rather slow to begin with and I feared that the hour and forty minutes would drag endlessly. Nevertheless, it is well worth the watch and I found myself wishing it was longer. Indie films deserve more love, and I am so happy that I can now confidently say that this movie will now be highly recommended to everyone I know!
Discover Kindred for yourself Here!
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