Mark O’Brien’s debut feature is more meditative than scary but is electrified by subtle performances, including his own
The marketing – poster, trailer and the like – for this monochrome low-budget feature is selling The Righteous like it’s a horror film. It’s all dark figures lurking in the murk, ominous, droning synth music and lots of talk of sin, suggesting it issues from the horror subgenre that’s soaked in a Catholic mindset: God v Satan, crime and punishment and, aptly given the cinematography here, black and white morality. But while this feature debut for writer-director-co-star Mark O’Brien is certainly suffused with uncanny dread, it’s much more thoughtful and meditative than it is scary, and barely supernatural until the end. This slipperiness really works in the film’s favour, and suggests that O’Brien, who also gives a tremendous performance here, has proper, big boy directing talent.
The marketing – poster, trailer and the like – for this monochrome low-budget feature is selling The Righteous like it’s a horror film. It’s all dark figures lurking in the murk, ominous, droning synth music and lots of talk of sin, suggesting it issues from the horror subgenre that’s soaked in a Catholic mindset: God v Satan, crime and punishment and, aptly given the cinematography here, black and white morality. But while this feature debut for writer-director-co-star Mark O’Brien is certainly suffused with uncanny dread, it’s much more thoughtful and meditative than it is scary, and barely supernatural until the end. This slipperiness really works in the film’s favour, and suggests that O’Brien, who also gives a tremendous performance here, has proper, big boy directing talent.
- 6/7/2022
- by Leslie Felperin
- The Guardian - Film News
The Righteous opens with the funeral of a young girl. Her mourning adopted parents, an ex-priest and his wife, still maintain active ties with the biological mother. There is an awkward visit in the family living room, adorned with many pictures of the deceased child. Doris (Kate Corbett in perpetually running mascara), the somewhat dim, jittery mother, a young woman clearly aging faster than she should by working dead-end jobs and living in poverty, gave up raising her child, likely for mental health reasons. The pressure to be polite and accommodating, by Frederic (Henry Czerny) and Ethel (Mimi Kuzyk), in this socially fraught situation, where the all around pain is this raw is uncomfortable to watch, even as it gives off unquestionably Canadian vibes. Doris...
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- 4/23/2022
- Screen Anarchy
Fantasia Review: Mark O’Brien’s Directorial Debut The Righteous is a Brooding, Murky Acting Showcase
After helming a number of shorts over the years, Canadian actor Mark O’Brien—who has appeared in major mainstream films like Arrival, Bad Times at the El Royale, and Marriage Story, and had a recurring role on the AMC series Halt and Catch Fire—makes his feature directorial debut with The Righteous. The film, shot entirely in brooding black-and-white, follows ex-priest Frederick Mason as he and his wife Ethel (Mimi Kuzyk) are struck by the tragic, accidental loss of their adopted daughter. “Have you ever considered that you aren’t even with God?” Frederick questions of his local priest following his daughter’s funeral, portending both the ensuing plot and method by which such thematic questions are to be answered. Though The Righteous works best by showcasing the acting skills of its talented cast, it’s ultimately bogged down by its literalist, overly verbose approach to spiritual atonement.
In...
In...
- 8/18/2021
- by Brianna Zigler
- The Film Stage
‘The Silence’ Trailer: Flying Monsters Are Hunting Kiernan Shipka and Stanley Tucci by Sound — Watch
“The Silence” is capitalizing on the latest trend for post-apocalyptic stories with creatures that prey on humans by curtailing basic functions. First there was “A Quiet Place,” in which John Krasinski and Emily Blunt had to evade blind extraterrestrial creatures with an acute sense of hearing. Then came the Netflix movie “Bird Box,” where Sandra Bullock had to blindfold herself so that she could avoid looking at creatures with the ability to drive a person to suicide.
Now, Netflix is combining all of these elements and throwing in some of its go-to stars for an extra synergistic push. In the movie, flying critters who kind of look like bats have destroyed the world by going after humans if they make any sound. That’s a familiar premise! The film also pulls from its Netflix stable of stars, including “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” actors Kiernan Shipka and Miranda Otto and “To...
Now, Netflix is combining all of these elements and throwing in some of its go-to stars for an extra synergistic push. In the movie, flying critters who kind of look like bats have destroyed the world by going after humans if they make any sound. That’s a familiar premise! The film also pulls from its Netflix stable of stars, including “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” actors Kiernan Shipka and Miranda Otto and “To...
- 3/29/2019
- by Hanh Nguyen
- Indiewire
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