A slow burn mystery about duality, that doesn't quite hit it's mark
This was not a terrible movie. On the contrary, there is quite a bit to like about it. It has nice cinematography, some great acting, and some memorable nightmarish sequences. Still, there is just something that is missing...you might say it's a little broken itself...or maybe it thinks it's more clever than it actually is. There are definitely themes here, about loss of self, fear of being replaced, etc. There may be some spoilers listed below, so take heed. Anyway, on to the review.
Gina Mcvey (played masterfully by Lena Heady), is a radiologist. We are told early on that there is an extremely rare condition where the heart is on the wrong side of the body. Cut to a birthday party for her Dad John (played by Richard Jenkins of "Cabin in the Woods" fame), the entire family is there, her brother Daniel his fiance Kate and Gina's boyfriend Stefan. During the course of a happy meal together, a gigantic mirror falls and breaks behind the table. This is a recurring theme (that of broken mirrors) and perhaps the psyche? That would be telling, or would it?
We see Gina at work again the next day and she swears she see's "herself" walk by. Apparently, she is not the only one that thinks so, as a collegue says he just saw her leave. Rattled by this, Gina hurries out to follow her "double". She follows her back to a flat and when she walks in to the room, she sees a picture of her dad in this woman's room. This frightens her quite a bit, so she runs away, gets in the car...looks in the mirror (ha ha) and has a head-on collision with another car. Afterwards she can remember nothing of the crash, so a counselor is hired to help her remember. She returns to Stefan's appt, and he just does not seem to be acting himself. Trying to relax, she runs a bath, but notices a leak coming from the ceiling. She goes to investigate, but Stefan tells her no, he will do it. Gina becomes convinced that Stefan is not her boyfriend, but just looks like him. And what is up with dad going in the bathroom at work, and the mirror there is broken as well. Is Gina losing her mind...are the pieces of the mirror reflective of her mental state and this is all done to show her fractured sanity? Why is everyone acting so wierd.
Ah, this movie could have been so much better. I really loved the acting by Lena Heady. I think that right now she is one of the best of the genre actresses. There is also a lot to be said about the way the film is produced by Sean Ellis. He has a way with making things seem off... particularly good is the slo-mo image we see quite frequently of the car crashing head first into another car. It's a very cool image and suggests that perhaps Gina is suffering a little brain damage. Some of the nightmare imagery is quite striking. And the bath that Gina takes is probably symbolic of renewal, as things really seem to change after that pivotal scene. And of course, all the mirrors...broken mirrors appear just about everywhere.
So, what doesn't work? Well, it is a slow burn, but it's a little too slow for my taste. It just didn't hook me the way it should have. There is a nice twist to the ending, but even that didn't phase me that much. It just kind of drags along, which is a shame, because there is a good movie buried under it all. The music is mostly there to be atmospheric, but sound does play a pretty big part. And there are few things I expected to happen, that didn't. For instance, there is a scene with a bathroom mirror, where she opens and closes it a few times and I kept waiting for the jump scare that never happened. Maybe if the movie were a little shorter it would have felt more tight. As is though, I can only give it an average score. Not a terrible movie, but you have to wait for things to happen, and when they finally do it's not terribly original. But still there are some nicely shot scenes and a few suspenseful and well acted sequences. You could do worse.
6.5 out of 10
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