Shadows on the Wall

Company

dir Casey Affleck
scr Casey Affleck, Ron Hansen
prd Steven Schneider, Roy Lee, Caylee Cowan, Dan Lawler, Casey Affleck
with Adelaide Clemens, Emily Alyn Lind, Caylee Cowan, Nick Nolte, Scoot McNairy, Atticus Affleck, Ben Mendelsohn, Indiana Affleck, Kyle Keay, David Alexander, Matt Billo, Kaia Lily Murtha
release WP Sep.26 vff
26/US 1h32

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There's an insistent emotionality to this genre-shifting dramatic thriller, which keeps us intrigued right through a story within a story within a story. So it is somewhat odd that this vividly made film is neither involving nor moving. Still, director Casey Affleck, cowriting with Ron Hansen, creates lovely narrative rhythms that feel like they mean something profound. So there are several superb sequences, and plenty to think about.

In the recent past, Evelyn (Lind) walks through a rainstorm, arriving unannounced at a bustling Christmas party. They take her in, and she entertains the guests with a snaky narrative about Alice (Cowan), a young actress who in 1953 was rescued from the snow by hermit Tom (Holte). She in turn recounts the turn-of-the-century story of farmers Rebecca (Clemens) and Emmett (McNairy), who find the near-dead teen Caleb (Atticus Affleck) outside their home. They take him in, and he becomes their hired hand, working the night shift to protect their animals from a marauding killer.

Constructed from conversations, the film gives each character a chance to spin a tale or two, sometimes to make a point with a fable but also to reveal what brought them to this point. And each person has a surprise to share about themselves. Swirly illustrative flashbacks depict some of these strands, while others force us to use our imaginations. So the entire movie becomes a knowing exploration of the nature and meanings of both the truth and the stories we tell ourselves.

Each performance is a bundle of suggestion, as these people bounce off each other in ways that reflect their views of the world, welcoming or wary, paranoid or far too interested. Revelations sometimes surprise us, and they can also confirm our suspicions about what these people are hiding. While each of these excellent actors brings a sense of wit to the screen, the overall tone is so earnest that it never quite feels realistic.

As a result, the whole film is rather stagey, too-carefully weaving these intertwined threads together into a larger account that spans much further than the century in question. It also introduces elements that shift the movie into something else entirely. This isn't merely a playful experiment in plot layering; it's a look at more primal urges, dark longings and the seductive pull of vengeance, even though it can never be satisfying.

themes, violence 8.Sep.26 vff

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