THE EYES OF MY MOTHER is a beautiful and affecting tale. The feature debut of writer/director Nicholas Pesce, this film is one that plays on a common fear and nurtures it until it becomes full-on dread and terror. Isolation and abandonment play key roles in developing this story and its main character, and their effects on both are positively nightmarish.
Francisca (Olivia Bond) lives with her Portuguese immigrant parents on an isolated farm in rural America. Their peaceful life is shattered when a stranger arrives one day, bringing with him a violence that will forever change life as Francisca knows it. The events of that day cast a shadow over the farm as we see her react in an unexpected and unsettling way. Eventually she grows into a young woman (Kika Magalhaes), her knowledge and understanding of the world unchanging and without a place outside of the confines of her farmhouse.
THE EYES OF MY MOTHER is a stark and haunting portrait of isolation and insanity. Francisca lives in her own torture that grows fiercer as the story progresses and she finds herself alone and lost. The world that she knew as a child cannot go on forever, and as it falls away, piece by piece, she is left to cope in whatever way she can.
The film finds a great deal of strength in its patience and in its deliberate tone. It takes its time to unravel, making the shocking moments count for more, and the time in between filled with ever-mounting dread. With a lean runtime of only 77 minutes, the film makes use of every second of screentime, yet never makes the story feel rushed.
Magalhades’ performance is incredible, capturing the horror and the tragedy of Francisca’s life and circumstances. We never stop feeling for her, but we are also terrified by her at the same time. She masterfully plays the character in such a way as to allow the audience to sympathize with her and pull away from her creepy demeanor and everything that follows.
The film is horrifying, but also heartbreaking in its narrative. Francisca’s loss and isolation cast a dark shadow over the story that bathes the events in a sense of sadness, as well as a sense of terror. She is an emotionally broken character, but still a character that still has the capacity to feel. The film masterfully walks the line between the harshness of the world that she has built for herself and the tragedy that she finds herself a prisoner of it.
Beautifully photographed in stark black and white, Pesce makes very artful choices in shot composition and framing, adding to the intrinsically unnerving nature of the story itself. One particularly stand-out moment frames the action outside through the window of a farmhouse expertly amps the feeling within the scene. The farm itself provides a fascinating and effective backdrop to the story, at once welcoming yet sinister, open yet claustrophobic. The visual dynamics play beautifully into the Francisca’s isolation and set the scene for the horrors that will follow.
THE EYES OF MY MOTHER is a frightening and tragic story wherein the isolation felt by the character is just as nightmarish as the events that unfold around her as the result of that loneliness. It artfully delivers a horror story unlike anything you might have ever seen, and skillfully cements itself as a compelling and disturbing film.
