Fantastic Fest Report: The Living and the Dead Review
This is one of those pictures that's nearly impossible to review without spoilers. Director Simon Rumley's fourth film could seriously scar you for life. Or it could exasperate you no end.
As I was watching it, my thoughts jumped around: "Interesting ... nicely done ... oh, that' a good set-up ... these actors are really good ... what's he doing ... love that ... I see, good move ... ouch, ouch ... oh, no ... oh, no ... oh, no ... ow! ... [teeth on edge] ... ow! ... what the ... ?!"
Review -- with some SPOILERS -- continues after the jump. For those who wish to avoid any kind of spoilers:
Official Web Site (Click "View Trailer" for Embedded Quicktime)
Fantastic Fest info page
I'm going to give away some of the farm as far as the plot and how certain things develop, so I don't want to inadvertently spoil it for those who wish to enter completely unawares (as I was going in).
Ready? Let's try and spoil without spoiling too much.
Mentally-challenged James (Leo Bill in a brilliant performance) lives in a huge crumbling, near barren British estate with his Mummy and Daddy. His parents clearly love their son; though he's of adult age, his mental capacity is that of a child, and his actions might understandably wear down his family members.
In a discreetly-played bit, Daddy (Roger Lloyd Pack) must leave bed-ridden Mummy (Kate Fahy) to care for business -- he's had to declare bankruptcy. It's been arranged for a nurse to come and care for Mummy, but James wants to prove to his parents that he can take care of his mother. It's the kind of care that's far beyond his ability to provide, and when James prevents the nurse from entering the home, the situation quickly becomes life-threatening for Mummy.
The early scenes are deliberately-paced; the camera remains still as the family members live through their day. As the situation deteriorates, the camerawork, pacing, and editing change accordingly.
Up to this point, the film is terrifically absorbing, and becomes quite terrifying. The horror of the premise -- how it's set up and how Rumley delivers on it -- is furiously original, and will strike very close to home for any adult children who have had to care for sick family members (both my hands are up on this point).
But Rumley has something far more ambitious in mind, with many more layers, and it was at that point that I started to disconnect with the material. Some will be able to travel with Rumley into the even more nightmarish landscapes that he portrays, but others will not -- I'm in the latter camp. For me, it lost the personal edge and ended up in more routine places.
Even so, there's no doubt that Rumley has considerable talent as a filmmaker, and what he displays here makes me want to seek out his other films (Strange Language, The Truth Game, and Club Le Monde).
Rumley's short film, The Handyman, also played on the program, and is very effective and atmospheric.
After flying across the Atlantic and having a couple of pints, Rumley said he was a bit "out of it," but he shared a generous amount of information during the Q&A.
Surprisingly, he described his first three films as quite dialogue-driven, and with this one he wanted to do something more visual.
He also scripted, and said that as a writer/director, he first wants to make sure he is happy with the script as a writer. Then he looks at it as a director, and re-writes the script as needed to reflect his views as a director.
He lost his mother to cancer -- his aunt provided much personal care -- and was driven to contemplate how family members deal with the serious illness and death of loved ones. His father died before his mother, and the film is dedicated to them.
Though the script was inspired by that personal tragedy, the film itself is not autobiographical. Whenever he noticed something in the script that had actually happened to him, he rewrote it to make it fictional.
The film screens at Fantastic Fest again on Sunday, September 24, at 6:25 p.m. Rumley will be present for the screening and Q&A.
