AT THE MOVIES

by Isy Jordan

We Have Always Lives in the Castle
Director: Stacie Passon
Starring: Taissa Farmiga, Sebastian Stan, Crispin Glover, Alexandra Daddario and more...

Merricat, Constance and their Uncle Julian live in isolation after experiencing a family tragedy six years earlier. When cousin Charles arrives to steal the family fortune, he also threatens a dark secret they've been hiding.

Based on the novel of the same name by Shirley Jackson, We Have Always Lived in the Castle, is a gem of a film. The filmmakers obviously cared a lot about the source material and stayed true to the vision of the story from the book. I'll just start by saying the tone, the moodiness of Ms. Jackson's tale is wonderfully brought to life here.

Sisters Mary Katherine "Merricat" (Farmiga) and Constance (Daddario) Blackwood live in the family home and are pretty isolated from the rest of the town. The girls' parents were poisoned to death six years before, the incident leaving poor Uncle Julian (Glover) who lives with them frail and often confused. Once a week, Merricate heads into town for what they need from the store and is met with cruel taunts from various people in the town. Some of it has to do with the mysterious deaths of the parents as most believe Constance was culprit even though she was acquitted. The rest seems to be jealousy as the Blackwoods are very wealthy.

One day their cousin Charles Blackwood (Stan) arrives, a slick talker looking to claim part of the Blackwood fortune, and nothing is ever the same.

The acting in this film was spot on and it had to be because there are no special effects here. The film is a lot like the great mystery movies of the 60s. Farmiga is a wonderfully talented young actress who did a great job of capturing Merricat. Alexandra Daddario, aside from a small role in S6 of American Horror Story is new to me but, she did a great job as the reserved older sister Constance. I loved the moments when you could almost see the meme text "screaming internally" when she was on screen.

Crispin Glover has been a favorite of mine for years and he doesn't disappoint here. His was a powerful performance portraying a man who isn't certain of anything anymore and he stole every scene he was in. That left Sebastian Stan as the villain of the piece. Stan played Cousin Charles unapologetically and struck a nice balance between charismatic charmer and barely-contained scoundrel. I've seen him in several films including the Marvel films where he plays The Winter Soldier and gets very few lines. It's a shame because he's a talented actor. Between this and I, Tonya, I think he should stick with more villainous roles. He has a real talent for them.

The film isn't rated but I'd place it at a PG-13. There's mild violence, gaslighting, domestic violence, mob violence, and some death. It's at 90 minutes which is just right. For those who love Shirley Jackson, mysteries, and great acting that doesn't rely on a ton of CGI, I highly recommend We Have Always Lived at the Castle.

Isy