Mama

After the market collapses in 2008, the senior partner of a troubled firm shoots a fellow senior partner and accountant, his wife, then takes off with his two daughters. His psyche warped seemingly beyond repair due to the economic bubble burst, this father of two plans to kill his daughters then himself, but “Mama” won’t let him. Accidentally going off the road, crashing near a river (this in winter), and finding an abandoned cabin deep into the wilderness, the father will use this location as an execution site. Before he can put a bullet into his first daughter, a “lady whose feet don’t touch the ground” interrupts, lifting off into the darkness, protecting the girls and destroying him. This Mama gurgles, growls, and even purrs when looking upon “her girls” and the three will find refuge within this cabin until the daughters are later found during a search.

**

 

The father’s twin brother, Lucas (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) and his somewhat off-putting punk rock guitarist lover Annabel (Jessica Chastain, who takes this character and evolves her impressively as the film continues) are taxed with the decision of raising the two girls once they are found by a search party paid by him (he exhausted his funds, too, showing he’s a damn good man who cared about their welfare). When the two girls are found, they are primal and crawling about on all fours like monkeys. Their psychiatric doc, Dreyfuss (Daniel Kash), attempts (almost successfully) to rehabilitate them back into civilized kids, but while the older sister, Victoria (Megan Charpentier), who had retained language skills because of her age at the time of seclusion, seems to adjust quickly, the younger sister, Lilly (Isabelle Nélisse), wasn’t so lucky, and remains rather stuck in her primitive state/nature (Mama still has a hold of Lilly, while Victoria has “outgrown” her; dependency is key).

What I do like about this movie is Chastain taking this rebellious, outspoken, sometimes a bit abrasive, and blunt punk rocker and “growing her up” without her losing some of the attitude and independence that does make her refreshing. She’s not a “Leave it to Beaver” suburban soccer mom, and doesn’t claim to be. Annabel wears her emotions on her sleeve, is edgy and moody, but you get what you see. She’s no phony. I like this. When Lucas is attacked by Mama, thrown down the stairs, and sent into a coma, Annabel will have to—much as she doesn’t want to—step up and be parental guardian on her own. Victoria cares about Annabel’s safety while Lilly remains devoted to Mama.

Mama could be the spirit of Mad Edith Brennan. There’s a line of dialogue between Dreyfuss and his secretary as he begins to research a closed down institution near that abandoned cabin where the girls took refuge with Mama. The “lost and found” section of a building archive of remains not collected by relatives houses “the wrong” (Brennan), and the secretary proclaims:

When a corpse is left out, the elements wither and desiccate it, twist it into a distorted figure that is unrecognizable as a human being. A ghost is an emotion bent out of shape, condemned to repeat itself time and time again, until it rights the wrong that was done.

I think the film is at its best when we don’t see Edith in full form before our eyes but in a distance that indicates her presence. The scary in the dark that courses through what our imagination creates can be far more intimidating than what is shown in CGI, lacking in realism, looking animated from inside a room of visual effects artists. Mama is presented (particularly by Victoria) as obsessive and possessive of those girls and she doesn’t want anyone touching them. Jean is their aunt and wants to adopt them as her own. Annabel is kind of in a conundrum. She knows she isn’t the paternal type. But she strong-willed and doesn’t take kindly to condescension. Jean seems hellbent on getting the girls, calling social services, and will try her best to gain control of the girls…much to her detriment.

Clifton Forge seems to be the answer to Mama. Doc Dreyfuss will pursue the truth. Annabel will get a glimpse (through the eyes of Edith when she escapes her orphanage, with her child, chased by townsfolk to a cliff, forced to take a leap and into a stick protruding from a rock) into the abyss, awakening from the nightmare with a greater understanding of Mama (this is a device to tell us about Edith, too).

Dreyfuss finds the cabin, a “gateway” that Edith travels from her refuge to the “assigned house” where the girls currently stay with Annabel. Dreyfuss finds what he’s looking for but it comes with the price of his life. Lilly’s first transition from Mama comes when Annabel makes the effort to emotionally connect with her. Annabel is Annabel, but she’s taking on responsibility. It is a concerted effort to finally bond with them instead of defy any paternal impact on them whatsoever.

There is a reason why Edith is in a state of unrest that keeps her active. A baby that didn’t go into the water with her when she plunged from the cliff. In a dream of Annabel, we see it for ourselves, but the hands of Edith were free of an infant. A box of remains, handed to Dreyfuss prior to his demise while he studied up on Victoria and Lilly’s plight, and the Mama they are so aligned to (Lilly, of course, more than Victoria), could just be the reason Edith remains at unrest.

But those remains may not be enough anymore considering Mama found two others to supplement her grief-stricken spirit. There’s a great moment in the film that symbolizes Mama’s possessiveness. Victoria’s glasses are taken off by Mama and broken. It’s simple and effective. This comes after Victoria goads Mama from “sucking the lifeforce” from Annabel.

It ultimately comes down to will. Lilly embraces Mama while Victoria resists. No longer does Victoria need to depend on Mama for security and protection. Lilly has never escaped Mama’s hold. Annabel must fight for Victoria, and this is the serious evolution of her character. Lilly never quite took to Annabel so Mama had no problems holding onto her, but Victoria’s resistance kept her from being taken. I guess some will consider Lilly’s fate horrifying while others may consider it somewhat beautiful. Lilly transcends into something else entirely, smiling while looking into Mama’s face, their form in light and through that cocoon, exploding into butterflies that fly into all sorts of directions. One of them lands on Victoria’s hand, seeming to indicate a bond that won’t die between sisters.

All of this beats the hell out of me. Look, the film loses me by film’s end. I like the development of Annabel, and there are some creepy scenes early, and the abandoned cabin/suburban abode of which Mama lurks are properly darkened in foreboding. When Mama is totally on screen, however, I never bought her as something scary because the CGI looks too artificial. A ton of horror films showcase ghouls like Mama these days, so the film isn’t revolutionary or all that unique. The back story and the developing story that continues between Mama and the girls aren’t all that innovative. To me, the hoopla of how great this is escapes me. I did think that early cabin scene where the girls are discovered, as they crawl about in the dark, was superb. There’s a later scene where Lilly is on a counter when Annabel turns on the light in a room that also makes for a good jolt. One of my favorite scenes has Lilly playing “pull the sheet” with Mama, but the camera is placed outside the room, showing Lilly primarily, hinting at by Mama’s shadow on the wall her presence. These are the more innovative visuals of the film, even though the ongoing story (institution plots are a staple in the horror genre, especially as back stories that explain current situations in present day of the ongoing plots of films) isn’t all that special. I think the visual effects that didn’t impress me will have to leave an impression with others in order for this film to truly wonder and wow. Mama basically looks like ink floating around in the water to me with a face that is animated and unreal.