All Creatures Here Below (2018)

“All Creatures Here Below” (2018)was probably not the best film to watch during this pandemic; soul-crushing true-to-life films about traumatized young adults in a world that rejects them maybe isn’t the kind of content I need to absorb at the moment. This is very well shot (it has that independent film, docu-style, free-camera, Cinéma Vérité approach), punch-to-the-gut film, directed with no intention on a happy ending for these victims of a world featuring a father who abused his son and daughter physically, sexually, mentally, and emotionally. I think you will realize at the very beginning that there will be no good outcome for Dastmalchian (holding on by a thread; you can tell he’s just at his wit’s end and his patience has been stressed to the max) and Gillan (she forgoes her more pop culture resume for a very bleak portrait of a young woman damaged and diminished by a hellish and dysfunctional upbringing (or is that “down”bringing?), seemingly a couple until we later learn from a conversation between an actor named John Doe playing Dastmalchian’s uncle that they are siblings (this left me just clutching my chest it hurt so bad). When Gillan kidnaps a neighbor’s baby (she actually leaves her crying baby unattended in the apartment) and brings it with her while an on-the-lam Dastmalchian (he kills a thief trying to get away with his “cockfighting” winnings) needs to ditch LA for someplace more safe. That kidnapping will be their ultimate undoing…Gillan no more can raise this child than the baby’s imperfect mother. So Dastmalchian tries to figure out what to do about the baby while Gillan holds the child close to her…the authorities are looking for them so that only makes matters worse. So heading for Arizona, eventually Dastmalchian considers going back home to Kansas, against Gillan’s wishes…she never wanted to return to where they were both abused. There is an intense scene where Dastmalchian has a shovel waiting to smash his father, only to learn from his uncle that the fucking bastard died in prison, having been arrested for pedophilia. When left alone in a crummy hotel room as Dastmalchian converses with his uncle about what might be left from the father to help them financially (there is nothing, which is no surprise), Gillan just wants the baby to shush (a severe bellyache that could be due to lack of real nutrition and a lack of stable environment), not realizing that a blanket and tight hug could silence it…for good. This film is a major drag on your soul. It is unrelentingly bleak and sad. There is just no relief to it at all. They were doomed. Dastmalchian does what he must, in his mind, to “protect” Gillan as the cops are drawing closer to them, realizing that she couldn’t survive in prison, especially now that charges wouldn’t be just for kidnapping the baby…the letter left behind by her to him just breaks whatever heart remains healthy from the entire running time of grim suck. The use of a shovel to the head multiple times is the final wallop in a film of wallops. The performances by the leads are sensational and very real…these are characters you can find in this harsh reality but they often are avoided by many who look past them. 2.5/5 (the film is really good but I never want to watch it again) just because it is so difficult to watch, but the scale is very loose. Could be seen as 4/5 by some for how real it is but as entertainment, go watch Gillan in “Dr. Who” or “Jumanji” for something easier to get through. Dastmalchian is obviously underrated; this film proves that as his pain, the on-the-edge frustrations of life that throttle him, is very realized by the man’s performance.