Fun To Interpret

Rating: 8/10 (9 January 2015)

This was a movie that I thought about quite a bit after having watched it. As an allegory, it seemed evident fairly early on what was causing the problems for this family. Amelia is a widower struggling to raise her 7 year old son, Sam, when a supernatural presence begins to torment them. We are shown that Amelia has clearly not dealt with the loss of her husband and that along with the grief, Sam's behavior is beginning to wear on her. We can see her slowly losing control and her mental health deteriorating, and so it is an easy leap to make that the paranormal happenings are related to her mindset. My interpretation differs slightly from what I have read in many other discussion of the movie. I think the Babadook is not an actual creature, but something representing the emotional baggage Amelia carries in her subconscious. Throughout the movie, I kept expecting her to deal with these buried emotions in a healthy way and remove the threat completely. I was looking forward to this moment and see how the filmmaker would choose to represent it. What actually happens it kind of confusing as far as what it seems to say about how the director feels we deal with our issues. The actual moment when Amelia defeats the Babadook consists of her telling it that it is nothing, it doesn't belong in her house, and then screaming. The aftermath is that she seems to have control of the creature, which I think is meant to suggest she is dealing with her pain but that it still remains somewhere within her. There are ways that people can deal with and release buried emotions and pain, and I felt that not demonstrating this in a clearer way was a lost opportunity. Some other thoughts: this is a movie layered with symbolism, and there was clearly a lot of thought put into everything said and shown. That said, I don't think everything works or represents what it is meant to represent clearly, but it was thought provoking nonetheless. Also, the performances are striking. The young boy does some things that I don't think a child actor has ever done before, and it was incredible what they got out of him. Essie Davis has such a wrenching performance that it's hard to watch at times--she really goes through the ringer. Finally, I don't know that I would have appreciated this movie as much when I was younger. I think it is more effective for people who have started to become aware how our experiences affect us over time and how our subconscious actually works. I'm glad I saw this, even if I disagree with what it says about the inner workings of our minds.