Michael - MD Review

A scene midway through Michael ends with Wolfgang - the ten-year-old boy kept prisoner in the cellar of the eponymous balding thirtysomething insurance broker - putting away a jar of pickles following another tense and fearful meal with his captor. Cut to the next scene, as Michael walks through supermarket aisles a worker cleans up a similar jar, broken with the pickles spewed helplessly across the floor. Michael is that sort of film. Contained, considered and absolutely captivating in all senses of the word.

As a peadophile Michael is cunning, conniving and despicable. His trip to the local go-kart track looking for a 'playmate' for Wolfgang is particularly disturbing.  As a person Michael is never empathetic but we are given opportunities to reflect on the why and how of who he is. Most challenging perhaps are the occasions of normative father / son behaviour.

This is an extraordinary film with exquisite acting across the board. More chilling then a dozen women in black; more akin to one woman in a red duffle coat. It is shot with a harshness that doesn’t evoke or signpost a particular response and as such the trepidation in each scene, and within every character interaction, takes us to our own dark places

Such is the ratcheting of tension, I was uncertain that it could be maintained and prepared myself for disappointment in the third act. However the shift in power and denouement are genuinely shocking and ultimately the finale is only the start of another dimension of the story.

So, thus far, my two favourite (or perhaps I should say most rewarding) films of the year are about a sex addict and a paedophile. Thank heavens for The Muppets.

Score: 10/10