"Exhibit A" - Film Review
Exhibit A...well, I expected my first review to be about something a bit more extreme, but after years of just...not watching this movie, I felt the impulse to write about it.
I am sitting here post-credits in tears from this movie. While it's defined as "found-footage horror", that doesn't feel quite right for it. Rather, it's an "extreme psychological found-footage drama." The premise is a family in the U.K. descends into dysfunctionality (which...well, let's get into that along the way) as the patriarch of the household breaks down over financial distress.
That loose premise doesn't even begin to explain what happens in this film.
The family consists of Andy (husband), Sheila (wife), and their two adolescent children Judith and Joe. The story is told through the lens of Judith's camcorder, though this camcorder is used by all the family members throughout the film. At first, they seem like an extremely loving and silly family. Andy is a very humorous man who clearly loves his wife and children, though he's seen to be a bit immature. Judith is quiet and loves nature, and is obsessed with the neighbour girl (that's right! She's a lesbian!). Joe is a goofball like his father, but seems closer to his mother. Sheila is quite a bit more of a serious person than her husband, and wants her family to be happy and healthy.
I'm going to mainly talk about Andy and Judith in this post, as we see the most out of those two. Sheila and Joe are important too of course, but are not the focus of the narrative.
Let's start with Judith (or, as her father calls her, "Angel"). She is the younger sibling, and definitely the quieter sort. She gets called moody at one point in the film, and that makes sense--she's like, smack dab in the middle of puberty. She has an obsessive crush on the neighbour girl, Claire, and has a strong bond with her father...though she's really closeted with her family. I actually like how they portrayed Judith as a closeted lesbian. They didn't glamourise it, they didn't even make her attraction healthy. The way she films Claire whenever she can and fawns whenever she's around is...weird. Uncomfortable at times, but still so utterly innocent that it's clearly just a teenager not given space to explore her homosexuality in an open way.
Judith is a really good eye to watch the events through. Her clear love and support of her father, even as he begins to descend into madness, allows us to really empathise with both him and her. She isn't talkative, but she's not devoid of personality either. You can really feel the tragedies that happen, and she's the one who uncovers most of the secrets in their family. A great character to project yourself onto without losing her individuality.
Next, let's chat about poor father Andy. This man...yeesh. Okay. He clearly has a deep love and commitment to his family; he loves goofing around, playing with his loved ones, doing things to make them happy. HOWEVER. He is also financially irresponsible and a terrible listener, which puts a constant strain on his relationship with his wife. He's very childish, and an impulsive liar, using these lies to make it seem like everything is hunkydory and going perfectly in his job as to not disappoint his family.
From the very get-go, there's a small bit of tension when his wife (albeit lightheartedly) chastises him about buying Judith an expensive camera. From this point on you can already kind of tell there's general discourse looming in the background, but it's not really a concern yet.
With each passing arc of the film, though, things go further and further downhill. Andy begins to act more erratic; smoking (much to his daughter's chagrin), impulse buying a pool installment, then trying to film a funny home video--in which he gets in an extremely rough row with his son, Joe. This is the first time we actually see him behave somewhat violently, chasing Joe around the yard and screaming at him that he's useless, and a disappointment, as Judith begs him to stop. This is when Judith properly begins to suspect something is wrong with her father.
Andy, by this point, has told his family he's gotten a promotion at work. From my prior statement, can you guess what this was? You're right! A lie! This becomes even more obvious when his coworker who DID get the promotion stops by for a drink, and Andy constantly tries to usher him away before he can say anything.
Sorry, I'm getting my timeline off-kilter, but I think the point is clear by now. Eventually Andy comes home covered in blood, claiming the aforementioned coworker had an accident where he lost half of his face. This, of course, is already suspicious...come on, dude. Your family believes you but I can sniff this bullshit from a mile away. Things only descend further from here. For instance: while Judith is in the garden at night spying, Andy sees her and LUNGES FOR HER AND CHASES HER. I am not afraid of chase scenes but this seriously got me, and I'll explain that more when I get into my personal reflection of this film. This whole movie is just deeply sad and unsettling to me.
The family finishes the pool, but Sheila is clearly not happy; yet she goes along with the pool party her kids throw anyways. Then...Andy's coworker crashes in, with his destroyed face, as Andy pleads with him not to tell anyone "who did this to (coworker)" while Judith tapes in secret. Hmmm...
Andy returns to the party. Its here that his oddity becomes even more...public, as he dances sporadically to a song while partygoers watch on awkwardly and his daughter quietly pleads for him to stop. He then pressures her to play her camera footage for the party as she begs him not to rewind (due to her filming of her crush Claire).
There seems to be a timeskip. Andy is filming himself seemingly...talking to his coworker Ray? Himself? I'm not sure. Then he starts to film his daughter...berating her quietly. Asking her what it's like to be under a microscope, as she breaks down and tells him she just wanted him to see how he looked. This is when I was like...wow. Holy shit. This guy is a narcissist, isn't he? He even calls his daughter a traitor. Judith is clearly terrified of him and his wife is enraged. Andy asks Judith why she hates him.
This was also incredibly hard to watch. The full scope of the kind of man Andy is, gaslighting Judith. She tells him she knows what he did, but knows it was out of love, and there's just a flash of clarity for Andy. I found this...heartbreaking, seeing a little girl who just so desperately wanted her dad to be okay.
...Andy is still spiraling, though, despite her confession. Andy digs up the family's secrets one by one, desperate to put his family back together by revealing it all. First, it's about Sheila's post-partum depression after giving birth to Judith, something he figured out by seeing that she held onto Joe's ultrasound and not hers.
Then is Joe's secrets: illegal pills, and an old phone that depicts Joe uh...getting a nice lick. You know. Yeah. This kind of made me laugh like...teenagers have their secrets. The drugs are concerning, but not this.
And lastly, Judith's secret: that she has a shrine to Claire. I would genuinely be concerned if my kid was THIS obsessed with someone, I wouldn't even care if they were gay. I'd just want them to have boundaries. Also while he's searching Judith's stuff Andy finds her old, broken camera, and blames Joe for how he, Andy, broke it. I was like...seriously dude? Really?
I'm gonna try to wrap up the last arc of the movie quickly, since I feel like I've over-summarised and haven't actually reviewed (this is my first review, please forgive me). Police come seeking Andy, can't find him...he admits to the camera that he disfigured his coworker to give himself a better chance at promotion. Rhe family comes home and Andy confronts them with the secrets he uncovered in the middle of the night, and Sheila threatens to leave with the children, and after a trip to Claire's Judith sees her father attempting suicide. He strangles her and kills his family...but Judith appears to still be alive.
The film ends with a reel of the family on the beach from the beginning of the movie.
Well, I did cry a couple times. I'm going to start with my thoughts on Andy's psychology and the state of the family, and then I'll launch into my personal connection with the film.
I'm no expert on Narcissistic Personality Disorder, but it very much feels like Andy has it. While he does feel love for his family and commitment, he is a habitual liar; he can't accept that anything could be his fault, that anything he's done is wrong. He thinks he's done nothing wrong, and diverts blame to everyone else.
I can't hate him for it all. He does want his family to be happy and have understanding, but cannot handle when things don't go his way. Extreme mental illness on top of NPD, and the financial stress, makes it easier to empathise with Andy even in the end. From a critical standpoint, it doesn't even feel like--despite the extreme circumstances--that mental health is being demonised. It's reminiscent of many situations of familicide that you can research across the internet. It is depressingly common for parents to kill themselves and their children for what they believe is helping/saving them. Though some might say Exhibit A is casting a negative light on people with NPD behaviors and mental illness, I don't think it's demonising. I think it's oddly empathetic and compassionate towards Andy's state. Andy is genuinely remorseful for everything, but clearly unstable, something I've seen in many of my own family members.
As for the state of the modern family...I think that's the true point of this film. Both parents are facing the extreme stress of holding their marriage together, while giving their children an ideal life and have financial stability. Andy works his rear off, but his impulsiveness gets in the way. Sheila tries to be the voice of reason and take care of home, but finds herself struggling. This leaves the children to figure a lot of things out on their own, without having the comfort of telling their parents the important things in their lives. Suburban dysfunctionality is not something thematically uncommon in various dramas and even human-based horror. It's a dysfunctionality I myself know well.
This movie affected me emotionally. I remember when I was very young, my biological father exhibited increasingly erratic behaviour. Granted, he's actual evil--unlike Andy--but seeing similar things in the movie brought up some things I hadn't realised I'd dissociated from for so long. During my father's drug abuse, his mental illness was exacerbated. The things he did to me are unforgiveable, but still...I can't help but feel a melancholy over it in connection with the movie. There were better times, like for Judith and Andy. Times tainted like the tapes created here.
Even in my later adoptive family, I'd watch my adoptive dad struggle with his mental health. He couldn't hold a job, couldn't support me and his son, and my mom took the brunt of responsibility. I was a teenager when it all fell apart, too.
I feel for Judith, a lot. I see parts of myself in her, and how I withdrew in my hidden sexuality and deep concern for the man I called dad. Exhibit A truly feels like a realistic look at how dysfunction can spiral into madness and violence, and desperation stems from love and lack of self-worth.
Do I Recommend This Movie?
Absolutely. It never quite gets boring, despite sometimes feeling slightly slow. There's always a lingering melancholy and sense of doom; you just know something terrible is coming. Nothing on screen is unamusing, even the most mundane parts, due to the great use of tension. The acting feels realistic and genuine, and the cast has great chemistry. Occasionally found footage can be headache-inducing, but filming goes pretty smooth! I never once had difficulty keeping my eyes and head clear.
Even with all the twists and secrets, it never gets confusing; by the end, it all makes sense. A wonderful look into the darkness hiding within a seemingly average family.
8/10, easily. Not a perfect film, but a very good one. It's not something I'd desire to rewatch a bazillion times, but something I wouldn't mind seeing again if it was put on screen.
Anyways, that concludes my review! Sorry if it's choppy, or the tone changes suddenly...I'm still deciding on whether or not I want to phrase my reviews like I'm ranting to a friend, or keep them cleaner or more professional. Still, hope you enjoyed! I'll get into the grittier stuff next time--I'm thinking of watching the Mexican gore film Atroz. Send me some ideas! Goodnight, coagulants ♡
