Regression - movie review

Regression

Plot: A detective and a psychoanalyst uncover evidence of a satanic cult while investigating the rape of a young woman.
Cast: Ethan Hawke, David Thewlis, Emma Watson
Director: Alejandro Amenábar
Rating: 15
Runtime: 1hr 46 mins
Release Date: Friday 9th October 2015

Have you ever had the feeling of when you're halfway through a film and then you realise that you just don't care about it anymore? I felt that exact way whilst watching Regression. It follows the story of Ethan Hawke as a police detective attempting to solve a sexual abuse case which may have links to a satanic cult. This could have made for an enthralling and shocking experience but it failed miserably. Instead of evoking any feelings throughout the film, I left void of any emotion.



Whilst the film may not have the most impressive cast, it does include actors who are well known but now I question why they chose to star in this. The main focus of the movie is on Hawke's character of Bruce Kenner, a police detective known for bending the rules slightly to get his way. He is eventually thrown into a case after a man walks into the station admitting his guilt of sexually abusing his daughter. The only issue they face is that he can't remember anything about it. Ethan Hawke seemingly mumbles his way through his performance only adding any effort or emotion when the movie really demands it (which is very rarely). This is a type of role Hawke can play in his sleep but for most of the time, he seems already asleep. As for Emma Watson, she most certainly has moved on from Harry Potter. However, this isn't the direction we had hoped for. The American accent she uses isn't atrocious but, more often than not, it is very noticeable and distracting. Her performance itself was mediocre at best. There wasn't really anything to complain about and apart from a few effective scenes, nothing to praise either. Emma Watson's Harry Potter co-star, David Thewlis, also appears in this film as a psychoanalysis professor who studies the work of regression and tries to find patients memories that have been forgotten or repressed. He was the only character that I seemed captivated to watch because the two scenes in which he uses his mind tactics to retrieve memories was quite interesting to watch thanks to a performance that brought a breath of fresh air into this dying film. The other characters featured here are either so basically written that no performance could save it or feature just plain bad acting, especially David Dencik as John Gray, Emma Watson's character's father.

As far as the story is concerned, it had no emotional impact upon me apart from boredom. The writing is so incredibly formulaic and practically steals other themes and moments from similar movies. I found very little originality within this film and when twists were revealed, none of them surprised me because they were so obvious. One of which I managed to guess from the trailer beforehand. The film also seemed inconsistent in tone. A lot of the time, it felt as if Amenábar couldn't decide if he wanted to make a mystery thriller or a satanic horror. That all culminated into a confused film which didn't have an identity to it. Something which really angered me was both the beginning and ending of the film. The opening gives the audience hardly any breaks to take in what is happening. Therefore I found myself thinking that I had missed something which may have a detrimental effect upon the movie later on. It was as if you needed some explanation of the events that had occurred previously. And then, without giving away any spoilers, the film's ending was downright disappointing and almost felt like an insult to those who had spent just over an hour and a half waiting for the dramatic conclusion. Instead of a large revelation that left us all reeling as the credits rolled, it was nothing but an anti-climax that seemed pointless and a way to just end the film without any purpose. However, the movie wasn't a total disappointment. When the movie wanted to, it's mysterious elements worked. What I quite liked was that it took its time to reveal things rather than giving all the important information immediately. That kept the audience intently watching so they don't miss any clues which could lead to the big reveal.

Editing was another issue this movie suffered from. It was lazy and unacceptable. Rather than staying with one continuous shot throughout the duration spent in one room, the camera would flit about repeatedly leaving me bewildered and confused as to where the action was meant to be focused. In contrast to the ineffective camera work, the score actually carried some dramatic weight to it with its dull and sombre tones as Ethan Hawke patrolled the dark streets of Minnesota. It was the only thing that helped create a sense of a tense atmosphere, but my only negative was that it was overplayed in circumstances that didn't require any music. This didn't cause any major distractions but often seemed like an odd place for it to be included.

Writing a review for this was difficult. Not because I didn't have enough to say, but rather it leaving me uninspired and uncaring about it all. The movie is an instantly forgettable waste of time that needn't be seen. It was a monumental misuse of talent and apart from one or two positive aspects, I spent my entire time wanting to either sleep or wait for the credits to roll so I could leave. Avoid unless you want a nap.

My Verdict: 2.5/10

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