This movie reminded me a bit of The Beguiled. There were two versions of it, one with Clint Eastwood back in the ’70s and, more recently, Colin Farrell. There’s this idea of a place that women run, and when a guy shows up, it causes problems. That’s what happens with not only the two sisters, which points out a sort of forbidden-fruit rivalry, but even with Lee and the potential destruction of Lazareth.
The film also explores this idea with Lee: when a mother figure sees what the world has become, she will do whatever it takes to protect her children, even if it means a lie for their betterment. Writer/director Alec Tibaldi really had me thinking: if I were a parent in that type of situation, how would I behave? We all experienced a version of this back with COVID and saw some of the madness it brought, with people buying guns and hoarding toilet paper. But in the end, all we really wanted was to go back to our daily lives. Luckily, things never got too out of hand.
Lee sits wrapped in a shawl at the kitchen table in Lazareth.
“It just shows the good ‘eye’ Tibaldi had in casting her for this role and her future talent.”
Initially, for me, Ashley Judd was definitely the big draw to the film. Luckily, I even managed to interview her prior to the film’s theatrical release, and she let me know some fun facts. She chose not to wear any makeup for the film, which makes sense for the time and place of the characters. Tibaldi also made lighting choices for the scenes with real candlelight, which the actors had to be extra careful moving around due to low visibility.
Sarah Pidgeon is the other big draw to the film, having recently earned an Emmy nomination for her work on Love Story. I had the chance to have a critics’ dinner with her over the weekend, and it was surreal to hear her talk in person and then watch this performance and hear her voice on screen. It just shows the good “eye” Tibaldi had in casting her for this role and her future talent.
"…people buying guns and hoarding toilet paper."
