The Promise (La Promesa) DVD Review

Hector Carre's La Promesa is a fantastic, haunting little thriller with a truly unique central character. Veteran actress Carmen Maura stars as Gregoria, an aging woman trapped in a loveless, abusive marriage and longing deeply for the children she was unable to have. Her husband has nothing but scorn and the occassional fist for her, so why has she stayed with him for so long? A deep, deep rooted Catholicism that teaches that breaking the sacrament of marriage is a mortal sin.

Eventually, however, an opportunity presents itself and Gregoria makes a break with her past and travels to a remote part of Spain where, under an assumed name, she finds work as a nanny in a wealthy home. All seems well for her there as she becomes a surrogate parent for the largely neglected Daniel and she finally has the chance to indulge her long dormant maternal instincts. But her religious mania is growing stronger, she keeps hearing strange voices encouraging her to commit violent acts and there are stories of a strange, haunted passageway through her new home.

The Promise keeps you guessing on a number of levels: what is real and what is not? Are Gregoria's visions legitimate or purely delusional? Is the house haunted or is it all in the mind? What makes it compelling viewing, though, is purely and simply Carmen Maura who turns in a fantastic performance that presents an entirely new protagonist for this sort of film. Who expects to find an aging Spanish nanny at the center of a tale of religious hysteria, paranoia, murder and revenge? The simple act of running otherwise standard genre fare through such an unusual character gives the material new legs and a new perspective. You'll certainly never look at the concept of maternal instincts in quite the same way again. Hector Carre fills the film with striking imagery - the crucified Christ falling off the cross and shattering on the floor was a favorite of mine - creeping dread and a mittfull of deftly turned jump scares to keep things hopping.

TLA has done a solid job on the DVD release. The transfer is crisp and clear with good contrast levels to take maximum advantage of Carre's strong cinematography. The film is presented in anamorphic widescreen in the proper 2.35 ratio. You get the original audio in 2.0 and 5.1 varieties along with optional English subtitles that are clear and easy to read. For extras you get the standard range of new TLA trailers as well as a solid twenty minute 'Making Of' feature. A strong release for a strong film.