In a world where every marketing campaign is pushing for you to reinvent yourself, to start over, to revitalize your life, to transform into something new, your current self is only as strong as the foundation it sits upon. Such is the story of Margaret, played by Rebecca Hall, in the Drama/Thriller film, Resurrection. Margaret is a leader in her industry, she’s a role model for younger women in her workplace, and she’s admired for her success and capabilities. This is not a façade. Margaret has indeed made something of her life. As a single mother, she hopes the same for her daughter who’s on the verge of turning 18 and moving out. Margaret is likable, and approachable, and seems to have her affairs in order. That is, until a man from her past shows up out of the blue. 

Rebecca Hall, known for her previous roles in The Night House, The Town, and Iron Man 3, absolutely shines as the lead character in this thriller of a film. She embodies confidence and structure, which makes it so jarring and unsettling when her character suffers a panic attack due to seeing a man from her past. The great Tim Roth, who’s filmography stretches to the horizon with memorable roles, plays David, a man who manipulated and abused Margaret nearly 20 years ago. After a tragic event, Margaret had finally come to see the monster that David truly was. Margaret traveled to America to start over and thought that she would never have to deal with David again. Unfortunately, she was wrong. David has now found her and threatens to ruin her life all over again if she refuses to submit to him once more. 

I appreciated many things about this film. The performances were stellar. The cinematography was on point. The score certainly assisted the tension and buildup of the film. The writing felt very tight and calculated. Overall, Resurrection gave me what I was hoping for after seeing the trailer. Rebecca Hall does an excellent job as a pillar of confidence crumbling under the pressure of her haunted past resurfacing itself. I was on the edge of my seat for the entire film, wondering where it would go. Would Margaret succumb to her former predator? Would she rise above and defeat her pursuer? With as proud as she was, how many of her friends and loved ones would she lose by keeping them in the dark? 

Resurrection thrives in tension building with its stress inducing writing. The pace of the film seems to double down on that tension, as it doesn’t seem to let up until the final few scenes. For the majority of the film, I was just as in the dark as the side characters as to where this film would end up. At some point, however, I did form a wild theory that the crescendo would lead to a bizarre payoff. Much like Alex Garland’s Men, built up to a gory, wacky, mind-boggling finale, Resurrection seemed to do the same. Just as I felt with Men, I did find that the third act of Resurrection was not as satisfying as the previous two acts. I saw it coming, and I understood the choice to go there, but I wasn’t necessarily enthralled by it. 

Still, Resurrection was one hell of a ride, and I thoroughly enjoyed Rebecca Hall at the center of it all.

Rorschach Rating:

Mental Health Moment: While I doubt that the majority of us have something in our past as messed up as the lead in this film, I would wager that we all have something in our past that haunts us. You might have something that doesn’t interfere with you on a daily basis, but when it surfaces, it can be hard for you to push it back down. We all have things we’d rather shove under the bed, or stuff in the closet, or sweep under the rug than actually deal with. Unfortunately, you can only do that for so long before those things come spilling out to cover everything that you’d worked so hard to keep clean. The sooner you can learn to unpack those things, ideally with someone who’s willing to listen and help you through it, the sooner you’ll find you have less things to hide.

If you or someone you know is reading this right now and struggling with suicide, depression, addiction, or self-harm - please reach out. Comment, message, or tweet at us. Go to victimsandvillains.net/hope for more resources. Call the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988, or 1-800-273-8255. Text "HELP" to 741-741. There is hope & you DO have so much value and worth!

Victims and Villains is written (and produced) by Josh "Captain Nostalgia" Burkey and others, and edited by Cam Smith. Music by Mallory Johnson and others. Resurrection is property of IFC Films; we do not own nor claim any rights.

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