Hooray for Female Directors Week continues with the harrowing story of Stephanie Daley (shot in not-so-glorious DV). Not a spectacularly written film but a thoughtful one that strives for a balance between realism and morality tale. Not unlike Half Nelson it's one of those American independent films with a script that 25-30 years ago would have been produced by a major studio and starred some A-List actors. Now it struggled from Sundance 2006 praise to a small limited release over a year later. Pretty moving performances all around especially from its leads, Tilda Swinton and Amber Tamblyn.
Pregnancy once again rears its potent head and the story follows a forensic psychologist (Swinton) who is trying to discern whether or not Stephanie (Tamblyn) knew she was 24 weeks pregnant when she unexpectedly gave birth on a class ski trip. The structure is similar to that of Peter Schaeffer's Equus in that its major conflict comes between a "stable" authority figure plunging into the mind of a potentially violent youth. I felt with this piece however that Swinton's character was not as compelling as she should have been. I was much more taken with Tamblyn which resulted in an uneven placement of sympathy.
Tamblyn gives a restrained and never strenuous performance overall. It's a smart choice on her part as she keeps a detached air until her final scene where she gives birth in a public bathroom. It's excruciating. It's long. It's arduous. And its worth sitting through whatever came before it to experience. It's a living breathing nightmare and both Tamblyn and Brougher knock it out of the park. It haunted me for the rest of the evening.
Bottom line: Overall a noble effort if aesthetically drab and plodding. It's raison d’être is well worth the wait.
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