Rose Byrne offers a brilliant performance as a woman faced with escalating anxieties and pressures looking after a sick daughter while dealing with a home that’s literally caving in.
For Linda (Rose Byrne), being a working wife and mother in Montauk is not a life of serenity and joy but stress and anxiety. Her daughter is suffering from an unknown disease and is hooked up to a constantly beeping medical device. Her husband is away at sea working and unable to alleviate the crippling pressure weighing on her every minute. Tensions escalate when a hole in the ceiling bursts, a problematic event that metaphorically sums up the immense strain she's under.
Then there are the patients where she works as a counsellor at the Center for Psychological Arts and Mom Talk, and an aloof contractor not providing much help at the house. The repairs send Linda and her daughter to a motel where a calm, supportive superintendent (A$AP Rocky, very good) offers space to breathe. But Linda’s mental health continues to spiral, the stresses of her life accumulating.
Byrne offers a magnificent performance in a film that is not for the faint of heart. Writer-director Mary Bronstein clearly intends to conjure a sense of claustrophobia, showcasing a feeling of desperation that can come from within the crumbling walls of your own home or your own psyche.
ROBYN CITIZEN
Screenings
Scotiabank 14
Royal Alexandra Theatre
Scotiabank 11