Mubi Monday: Never Steady, Never Still (2017)

In an ideal world, Shirley Henderson is recognised by everyone as an actress who is one of the absolute best of her generation. The fact that she doesn't have more leading roles worthy of her immense talent is a travesty, but I hope those who appreciate her work look beyond her supporting turns and seek out films such as Wilbur Wants To Kill Himself and Intermission, both showing different aspects of the range she can deliver. They should also definitely check out this film, a tale of a troubled family and a woman struggling through every day while her Parkinson's disease makes even the simplest tasks quite difficult to manage.

Henderson is Judy, the aforementioned woman. Things get more difficult for Judy when she loses her husband, who would also help to care for her. Her son, meanwhile (Jamie, played by Théodore Pellerin), is working away at an oil field, an environment full of toxic masculinity that forces him to consider his identity and sexuality. Both mother and son end up being helped by Kaly (Mary Galloway), a young girl who works at a local store, and there’s a hope that maybe the main characters can leave burned bridges behind them as they forge some strong new connections.

Written and directed by Kathleen Hepburn, adapting her 2015 short into feature length, this is the kind of film that makes me immediately want to further explore the filmography of the person who made it. Hepburn easily depicts interesting moments of human connection and exploration without stumbling over into the realm of the pretentious, and she has helped herself immensely by casting the main roles perfectly.

This is a quiet film, but it’s not trying to avoid dialogue. Lonely people who are struggling don’t have much to say, but they can, and do, make up for that when other people are around. Sometimes those conversations seem unimportant, sometimes they seem to be trying to tackles ideas the speaker cannot really find the right words for, but they all come with a certain amount of weight to them.

Having already mentioned how much I like Henderson,  it is probably obvious to anyone reading this that I loved her performance here. She portrays her constant battle against Parkinson’s disease, and it is played like a battle, with a mix of frustration, resilience, occasional helplessness, and dignity. The obvious physical work doesn’t seem unnatural or overdone, and it’s basically just another absolute masterclass from someone who can rarely makes any wrong choices. Pellerin does well enough in his role, and it’s good that his character is placed in a strange limbo. He’s lost in a number of different ways, and the performance reflects the nature of someone completely unsure of who they really are, or want to be. Galloway comes along at just the right time to help brighten up the film, and her ability to show how shy and sweet her character is allows for the whole film to offer the promise of optimism that isn’t ever made explicit.

I am sure that many could watch this film and really dislike it. It has intimate camerawork and a visual style best described as a bit murky, and those who watch a lot of independent cinema will recognise the usual hallmarks of such fare, despite the content being a bit different from many others. I loved it though. I loved the performances, I loved the way the main difficulties were depicted, and I loved getting to the end of the film and realising I could have happily spent some more time in the company of these characters.

8/10

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Netflix And Chill: There's Someone Inside Your House (2021)

Perhaps still best known for the two Creep movies that many keep thinking of as Mark Duplass movies (maybe because of his input, or maybe it's just me), Patrick Brice has been building an enjoyably twisted filmography over the past decade or so. I still wouldn't have considered him as the first choice to direct this teen slasher movie, based on a novel by Stephanie Perkins, but he soon shows that he's more than up to the task.

Someone is killing the students of Osborne High, with the death scene relating to some secret that is then shared around with everyone else at the school. This probably wouldn't worry anyone who manages to live their life without any secrets, but almost everyone has a secret. Makani (Sydney Park) has a big secret, a reason she moved away from where she used to live, so she starts to worry when that will catch up with her. She also has a small group of close friends (Alex, Zach, Darby, and Rodrigo) that expands by one when they welcome bullied football player, Caleb, among them. And she has an attraction to the one boy who is the immediate prime suspect when the killings begin, Ollie (Théodore Pellerin).

Both the best and the worst thing about There’s Someone Inside Your House is the fact that it is a very straightforward, non-ironic, slasher movie. You don’t get a lot of winks and gags, which means the pure and serious approach actually feels more interesting and unique now, compared to the many slasher movies we have seen that need to be loaded with references to past glories.

Henry Hayden’s screenplay puts everything together well enough, despite not throwing around enough red herrings, and you have a good selection of characters who manage to stand out from the crowd without ever seeming invulnerable. Brice works well with what he’s given, setting up the deaths as the set-pieces they should be and building up a head of steam towards a third act where we get the expected “unmasking” and final battle. The killer isn’t ever all that menacing or convincing when all is finally revealed, but that is compensated for by the messages running throughout the rest of the film, and the gory kills.

Park is a decent lead, a young woman with a troubled past who could also be a suspect in a killing spree, and Pellerin is enjoyable as the misfit who probably isn’t the evil sociopath that everyone takes him for. Elsewhere, Ashjha Cooper, Dale Whibley, Jesse LaTourette, and Diego Josef are a good selection of actors playing the core group, and Burkely Duffield is easy to like as the footballer who ends up joining their group. There are other people here, all doing good work, but the focus stays on the main group of friends trying to act as if they don’t have any secrets while avoiding a killer who could prove otherwise.

Satisfyingly bloody, and enjoyably teen-oriented without feeling too inconsequential or silly, There’s Someone Inside Your House turns out to be one of the better slasher movies of the last few years. And it doesn’t end with an obvious attempt to stretch things out into a series (famous last words).

7/10

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