THE LITTLE STRANGER

Film Review by FIORE

For the past several months, I’ve been critiquing Independent Irish Horror films.  While some were right on target, and others missed the mark, the one element they have in common is an incredibly slow pace.  While the Irish folks seem content with molasses horror, it tends to unsettle American viewers who prefer a quicker pace.

With THE LITTLE STRANGER, Irish filmmakers team with British filmmakers and the movie plods through two hours of celluloid as if it were a week.  The fidgeting I did in my seat was not due to scares or gore or even tension.  It was derived from a general anxiety of “getting on with it”.  The British are known for a methodical pace in their period pieces.  Mixed with the Irish horror pace, THE LITTLE STRANGER will enable you to multitask other chores and duties while still retaining the plotline.  Penned by Lucinda Coxen, the script also has overly extended scenes, so commonplace with female screenwriters.

While THE LITTLE STRANGER is slow, it is also moody.  It is a psychological, Gothic thriller.  Pay no never mind to the trailers.  This is not a BlumHouse or Hammer Film production.  There are no “boo” scenes, nor any nail-biting sequences.  The story unfolds at a proper English manner with the utmost pomp and circumstance.

What helps this film immensely is the cinematography of Ole Bratt Birkeland.  He uses extreme close-ups with set shots, highlighting characters when needed and setting mood otherwise.  The quick cuts between the two serve to keep the viewer off guard.  The technique helped keep me to the final reel.

The other key element THE LITTLE STRANGER has is a powerful performance by Domhnall Gleeson.  He plays Dr. Faraday, the one man who seems to have the ability to halt the destruction of one of the town’s oldest families.  When he was young, and they packed him off to school, his mom worked as a housemaid for the Ayers family who live in the Hundreds Estate.  There was, however, a distinct line between the two family’s social status and the estate was something Faraday could only dream of, but still desired.  Now, as a doctor, he becomes a frequent inhabitant of the estate as he attempts to cure a malady which befalls the Ayers family.  Ruth Wilson plays Caroline Ayres, the young, strong-headed mistress of the mansion, and love foil for Faraday.  Her mother is played by Charlotte Rampling and her brother Roderick is played by Will Poulter.  This tandem of top stars offer enthralling performances and help make watching this film worthwhile.

In the hidden core of THE LITTLE STRANGER is an odd, quirky message. It’s one of class struggle, with the common man prevailing against the bourgeois, but at a rather steep cost.  It would be communistic, if it weren’t so decidedly negative.  It is, however, war which facilitates the common man victory; an odd subplot in the script.

The final scene in THE LITTLE STRANGER is worthwhile.  In retrospect, there was foreshadowing in the script, but I did not pick up on it, and I am usually adept at these things.  While the twist at the end did not make up for all the film’s sins, it certainly did make it more palatable.