I wish it was just slightly better than it is, I wish there was some sign of what life was before the baby came along, I mean why did her husband marry her, I have no clue, nor do I know why he bothered to stay married to her as long as he did. The performances are good, especially Juliane Moore, the film is extremely well crafted and as much as I bitch, it does hold your attention in the same way that a bloody car wreck does (you keep watching to see how bad it gets because you know it has nothing to do with you). Is it any good? Yea, he says begrudgingly.
I never cared about anyone or anything, I only wanted to see how twisted this all got(And it gets pretty funky).
Yes I understand that everyone is wrapped up in themselves behavior thats so guarded that each act (especially sex)seems to be for some ulterior reason, and that any unmannered act is one of self revelation, but at the same time it kept me distant. All of the actors are very good but I felt as though I was watching a very very British mannered drama.The characters seem to be more a collection of ticks and manners then anything else. Its doesn't help that the performances seem very mannered. These are rich people who are just strange. Forgive me, but I don't know why I was watching this, I mean let me put it simply, these people are nuts. As a means of making a film that is something that we can either relate to or want to watch for any reason other than it intrigues our baser instincts its not really the way to go. As a means to an effect, namely making the audience feeling uneasy, it works in spades. Everyone is clearly in their own little damaged world (Dad travels, mom is isolated and the kid just tries to cope with all of the weirdness). Whats also clear up front is that no one is "normal". Its clear from the start that Mom is paying way too much attention to her baby. The interaction between Barbara and her husband now that they have a son is at best awkward, at worst strained. Almost from the first frames the whole world seems wrong and off.
We watch as the relationship with her husband slides, the relationship with her son (who narrates) goes weird and everything collides in tragedy. Story of Barbara Daly Baekeland, who married the heir to the Bakelite fortune.