RESURRECTION (2022)

Rebecca Hall

RESURRECTION (2022). Written and directed by Andrew Semans.

Margaret (Rebecca Hall) has a daughter, Abbie (Grace Kaufman), who's just about to turn eighteen. Margaret reencounters a man, David (Tim Roth), with whom she had an abusive relationship many years before, and is afraid he might be out to harm her or her daughter. Apparently David murdered their baby boy, Ben, and Margaret let him get away with it. However, things take a surreal turn when she tells a colleague, Gwen (Angela Wong Carbone), that David ate the baby and Ben is still alive inside him. Huh? 

Carrying a baby? Tim Roth

Obviously Resurrection can not be taken literally, and the slender characterizations further distance the viewer from what's happening on screen. Resurrection might have worked better as a half-hour short, but stretched out to nearly two hours it doesn't work at all, although it begins well with an initially intriguing premise. However, the whole movie is really just an acting exercise for Hall and Roth, both of whom are excellent (although in a long monologue talking about David, Hall seems to be merely acting in the technical sense rather than feeling the role). You can take this film as an abstract study of the effects of abuse and control, or of a woman who is slowly losing her mind, or preferably, not take it at all. I choose the latter. Rebecca Hall was the executive producer. While I can see what attracted her to the project -- it's a starring role with juicy acting prospects -- she should still choose her projects with more care in the future. 

Verdict: At least I didn't have to pay to see this. Too weird for its own good. ** for the acting and cinematography.