Vivarium (2019)
Dir. Lorcan Finnegan
Shout out to the ENTIRE production and talent team! Thank you for your art.
Released on March 27, 2020 to VOD.
I had been looking forward to this film since the first trailer. At one point in the film, I yelled out, “What the fudge is happening?”
In recent years, we have seen an uptake and more agency from the horror film genre. They have graciously elevated their standards and have more or less surpassed my base expectations; (but, I am also no one special). Vivarium is another pleasing addition to the list of greats.
Admittedly the director, Lorcan Finnegan, has said that this film plays to the theme of being a young-adult, shacked up and living in the suburbs under the pressure of a mortgage and raising a family. A horror in thought and in reality. I do not want to dictate the film per se, but I will go into some beats that I found interesting.
A young couple in high spirits end up in a home together. Realizing they may live the rest of their lives within those walls, on that property, quickly descends into a nightmare. To top it off, a baby is delivered in a box and they are expected to raise this child, in turn gaining their freedom.
If the home is jail, the child is now ball and chain. Attempts to escape a life no longer desirable distance the man, Tom and the woman, Gemma. The core relationship between the two is wedged by their circumstances and the child only adds more weight.
There are heavy references to the pressure of a life-long mortgage, regret, depression, resentment, abortion (who the choice really belongs to), postpartum, the outcome of never bonding with your child, how easily your words and actions imprint on your children, feelings of helplessness, and that question we all ask ourselves, “Is this it?”
What is interesting to note is the look of the main set-piece. Everything in its’ place. No need to ever leave home when we can have everything delivered. Looking perfect is not everything to everyone; real people have flaws and expect flaws. There are efforts to sabotage the new lifestyle because there is no longer a choice and choice is fundamental in having a full life. The ‘free’ roles we begin in life fall into systematic routine as a life in the suburbs begins. The man works his life away and the woman is left home to raise a child neither of them wanted. The overall look of the boy is also to be noted. He looks as though he’s never belonged to them. He does not seem to have any genuine human qualities and only watches and mimics Tom and Gemma until he “goes off” to wherever.
The boys lack of human qualities could also be a comment on the state of the world today and how little the general populous care for one another. Numb reproducing numb.
There is a lot more I would like to add on, but I want you you see this film. We can certainly engage in a good conversation from there.
Enjoy!!
#isawitfivetimes