The Truth About Emanuel: Blu-ray Review
A troubled girl, Emanuel (Kaya Scodelario), becomes obsessed with her mysterious new neighbor, Linda (Jessica Biel), who bears a striking resemblance to her dead mother. After a devastating secret is revealed, their relationship intensifies – and grows more dangerous. Written by Francesca Gregorini and Sarah Thorp. Directed by Francesca Gregorini.
The movie begins with a dark interpretation of a how Emanuel believes she is responsible for her mother’s death. Her mother died giving birth to her, so in a sense, it was caused by her but obviously not her fault. Nonetheless, we are given an insight in how perplexed Emanuel feels about her life. She becomes a bit obsessed over her new neighbor and finds a way to be involved with her, by babysitting. Only by doing so, Emanuel reveals that Linda is a lot more troubled than herself. Linda has built an idea that she has a baby, but that baby is actually a doll. A creepy doll might I add. For some reason Emanuel feels impelled to help her and keep her mystery a secret. Linda’s secret eventually comes out and Emanuel is put in a position that causes her to have a breakdown. Once the whole story is revealed for Linda’s abnormal behavior, Emanuel wants to help her get closure. By doing so she also gets closure for herself. This was an interesting movie. Though I felt there was some parts that were a bit off, I felt that Emanuel was played beautifully by Kaya Scodelario. She had a snarkyness to her that I loved and made Emanuel who she was – a moody and troubled individual. Jessica Biel did a good job with Linda, though I can’t say that playing the crazy woman really suits her or was her best work. The two had good chemistry and played off each other well. I would give this film 3 out of 5 stars. Though I felt the movie grasped my attention, I still felt there were a lot of gray areas and spots that could of used more “oomph” so to speak.
My Likes: I felt that Kaya Scodelario was a perfect fit for the part, therefore I really enjoyed her in this film. I also liked the story of discovering who Emanuel is while also unraveling Linda’s character. There was also this innocence laced with darkness that I felt this movie captured well. I appreciate that both characters were given a sense of closure on their losses and some sanity was gained by the pair.
My Dislikes: The movie was taking us on a psychedelic ride, but I felt some of the focal points were a bit lost in translation. I still didn’t quite grasp the significance in the water with Emanuel’s hallucinations. I think the back story of Linda could have used a bit more details. She left her husband and he filed a missing person report. But somehow she was able to get a home, furnish it, and start a life somewhere else in a drop of a dime? Also, Linda was convinced her “baby” was real and it took only one person to tell her the baby was not for her to stop and realize? I know its a moment of recollection, but it seemed to easy to break her from her disillusion.
Bonus Features:
Interview with the Director: A sit down with the director on how the story came about and her thoughts on the actors portrayal.
Deleted Scenes: A few scenes that were left out – with reason. Perhaps would of caused more confusion.
Outtakes: A few silly moments in a somber movie in a dark movie are always fun!
Trailer
