Nocebo, 2022.
Directed by Lorcan Finnegan.
Starring Eva Green, Mark Strong, Chai Fonacier, Cathy Belton, and Billie Gadsdon.
SYNOPSIS:
A fashion designer is suffering from a mysterious illness that puzzles her doctors and frustrates her husband, until help arrives in the form of a Filipino carer, who uses traditional folk healing to reveal a horrifying truth.
Early in Lorcan Finnegan’s admirably culturally relevant but somewhat too on-the-nose Nocebo, Eva Green’s Christine – a successful children’s clothing designer – encounters or hallucinates what appears to be an undead dog covered in ticks. Whether real or imagined, the effects of the parasite have left Christine with several side effects ranging from controllable nervous shoulder shaking, short-term memory loss, migraines, and more illnesses.
Needless to say, her career has been put on hold, and life essentially put on pause, which is frustrating considering she and her husband Felix (Mark Strong), who is also often working, already struggle to find the time to pick and drop off their daughter Roberta (nicknamed Bobs by her friends and played by Billie Gadsdon) from school.
Unable to remember making the hire, Filipina nanny Diana (Chai Fonacier) arrives to offer a helping hand. It also turns out that Diana is capable of doing more than looking after Bobs (often rude and disrespectful, not so enthused by the idea of someone else slipping into a motherly role) and cleaning up around the house; she is also skilled in mystical healing practices that quickly show results for Christine and have her getting away from traditional medication.
Much of this is grounded in Philippines folklore, with Diana recounting the supernatural backstory that, alongside Christine, we are not sure whether to believe. Felix also grows increasingly suspicious of these practices, unhelpfully getting involved in the dynamic.
The script from Garret Shanley (a regular collaborator of Lorcan Finnegan, having worked together on the excellent suburban nightmare thriller Vivarium) could have gone sideways fast, dabbling into culturally specific themes and presenting the folklore aspects with obscure detentions of healing or revenge. And even though it’s not challenging to figure out (plenty of handholding exists here, with one character spelling out a metaphor) what’s going on in Nocebo, the patient approach allows for well-needed character focus. The photography from Radek Ladczuk also routinely and cleverly frames the characters in ways that thematically play off the class divide.
There are numerous flashbacks to Diana’s homeland, giving looks at her family life, including a husband and daughter roughly the same age as Bobs. By doing so, the class elements of the narrative feel further fleshed out beyond the endgame. Simultaneously, there are deeper looks at the folklore, ensuring that the filmmakers respect that culture once the horror aspects come into play.
Nevertheless, the misdirections are easy to see, and even at 97 minutes, Nocebo sometimes feels stretched, leaving viewers waiting for the inevitable reveal. But the social horror is impactful in caring about these characters and the unacceptable circumstances on display. Chai Fonacier is also in complete control of Diana’s character, measured and nuanced, excelling at both dramatic and terror beats.
Eva Green is given the flashier performance, committed to the meltdowns and the inability to separate reality from fantasy. The scares are also refreshing considering the Philippines folklore and visually realized with demented imagination.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Critics Choice Association. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews, follow my Twitter or Letterboxd, or email me at MetalGearSolid719@gmail.com
