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Directed By
George Ratliff
Written By:
George Ratliff, David Gilbert
Cast:
Sam Rockwell, Vera Farmiga, Celia Weston, Dallas Roberts, Michael McKean, Tom Bloom, Rufus Collins, Daniel Jenkins, Linda Larkin, Jodie Markell, Haviland Morris, Joey Sontz, Bryant Pearson, Nancy Giles, Jacob Kogan, Randy Ryan, Ezra Barnes, Alex Draper, Nicholas Guidry, Patrick Henney, Kirby Mitchell, Darrill Rosen, Stephanie Roth Haberle, Evan Seligman, Antonia Stout
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Joshua (2007)
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Movie Review by Jarrod
July 14th, 2007
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'Joshua' gives us a lad who could be the offspring of Damien from The Omen and Macaulay Culkin from The Good Son. He is a prodigy, very smart, proficient at music and most everything else, the pride and joy of his parents Brad (Rockwell) and Abby (Farmiga), at least until a new baby named Lilly comes along. Joshua is jealous of her, but that is only part of it. He just harbors psychopathic tendencies, a grim by-product perhaps of his own genius. The boy's true nature gradually becomes more and more apparent, even though his expressionless face and oddly detached, robotic and matter-of-fact manner of speaking makes it clear early on that something is not right with this kid. Brad is stressed out by the pressures of his job, and somewhat disappointed by the fact that Joshua will not be the sports player he always hoped for (a fact confirmed by Joshua very bluntly). Abby is a stay-at-home mom who has always doted on Joshua, but now devotes most of her time to Lilly, frazzled by the infant's incessant crying, not realizing that Joshua is the primary source of it, as he visits Lilly's room. Abby enters a state of depression, and Joshua amuses himself by screwing with her medication, while exploiting the tensions that already exist in his parents' marriage. For instance, he takes up the evangelical Christianity of his paternal grandmother, which annoys Abby, who is Jewish.
Of course, all of this is an illusion, as granny's demise reveals. She dies in an "accident", which is really not an accident at all. Brad starts to suspect what should already be obvious, that Joshua is evil, but comes to this realization a little too late. Kogan is remarkable in the title role, and can generate chills with only a glance. Rockwell is good as Joshua's eventual nemesis, playing it straight most of the time, nothing fancy or weird, just solid acting. Farmiga is wonderfully effective as the distraught and troubled Abby. It is a difficult role, but she nails it. Director George Ratliff captures the story in an elegant way, with sharp dialogue (co-written by David Gilbert), and occasionally eerie and evocative music, suitable for sustaining the mood and overall atmosphere of the film. 'Joshua' also produces legitimate scares, and generates consistent and skillfully crafted suspense, not to mention some strong family drama, but that is rather marginal. In any sense, 'Joshua' is certainly worthwhile.
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