This Review Reveals Minor Details About the Plot.
Passive Aggression
Plot Overview
Child psychiatrist Dr. Thomas Seymour (Josh Charles) has a modest
practice in New England where his city-bred wife Lauren (Julia Stiles)
works on her figurative paintings and shows them in the (distant)
city. They are trying to have a baby. He's sometimes
called on to give expert testimony in court. Twelve years ago it led
to the murder conviction (“The forensic evidence was
overwhelming”) of eleven-year-old Danny Miller (Jasper
Newell.) Charming (“very exceptional & damaged”) Danny
(Avan Jogia) is now out and comes to his erstwhile shrink complaining
that his testimony convicted him (“They put him away because
I thought he was bad,”) he being innocent—there was
some exonerating evidence the jury disregarded. He admits he'd had
a shoving contest with an elderly lady leaving her lying quietly on
the floor, but he says she was alive when he left. He doesn't know
who killed her. There were no other suspects, although she being a
cat-woman, maybe her cats smothered her: ye old dog-ate-my-homework excuse.
Danny's experienced cruelty in the Windsor
Juvenile Center and the Morgan Hamilton Penitentiary. “We are
all of us killers,” he tells Tom, the jury had just projected
their own larceny onto him. But Dr. Seymour
though merely having rendered an opinion on Danny's culpability had
a higher, ethical standard to do no harm. Therapists themselves
undergo therapy to make sure they are clear before they practice.
“The Drowning” explores the inner workings of this
professional as it subtly reviews his past.
When
young Tom and a group of boys pushed another boy they'd been taunting
into the river, he would have drowned had not Tom's dad jumped in
and saved him. Perhaps the second time would be easier. However, Tom
“a fantastic swimmer” performs a heroic water rescue
(“That water was deep”) in this movie.
Tom is at home meeting people at a local watering hole; he's a social drinker. If he ever had a serious drinking problem, it's passe.
His strong reaction against smokers in his home or office pegs him as an ex-smoker who can't tolerate the habit in others, although he'll take a puff surreptitiously when under stress.
He gives indication that he was once a ladies' man with the co-eds on his lecture circuit. He and his wife are passionate with each other (“When we first met, we didn't leave your apartment for a month.”) He doesn't bother with the co-eds anymore except for an opportune romp when his wife is away. Danny, meanwhile, has befriended his wife.
She is supplementing their income while her husband's cut down on his hours in order to work on his book. He doesn't want her fraternizing with Danny (“Just trust me on this.”) She a modern woman is reluctant to accept his professional reticence (“You can't tell anyone about this, not even your wife”) about Danny (who calls himself Ian) until the story of his release breaks in the New London Star.
His confidants: Teddy (John C. McGinley) being the prosecutor who got Danny convicted, Angela (Tracie Thoms) Danny's parole officer, and Danny's military father Captain Miller (Robert Clohessy) all advise him to leave the case firmly in the past, but Danny makes that impossible. The former two, of course, are under the same professional prime directive to do no harm, and the captain a strict disciplinarian would have his rules of engagement.
Ideology
Danny, it seems,
is out to get a rise out of Tom to prove a point. Conflict will arise
in the vein of, (Prov. 30:33)
“Surely the churning of milk bringeth forth butter, and the
wringing of the nose bringeth forth blood: so the forcing of wrath
bringeth forth strife.” The idea in the proverb is that a state of peace and
conciliation can erupt into to one of war just as a liquid (milk)
can change state to solid (butter) through continual agitation (churning.)
Or hit a critical area (nose) and it bleeds. The movie shows us a
teakettle boiling water after it's been on the burner a while:
liquid turned into steam. It also shows us a bloody laceration on
Tom's hand from doing a water rescue.
Danny manipulates Tom and the captain into a mano a mano confrontation. When the crazed army guy comes at Tom with a baseball bat intending to do him harm, we could see a justifiable defense (“You pulled the trigger.”) However, over a long period of time, Danny is just there irking Tom. He had been applying to schools to better himself. So what if he got accepted locally?
Production Values
“” (2016) was directed by Bette Gordon. The screenplay was written by Stephen Molton and Frank Pugliese based on Pat Barker's novel, Border Crossing. It stars Julia Stiles, Avan Jogia and Josh Charles. The acting was very good all round.
It's not rated in the United States. The photography of New England was stunning and the locations picturesque. Natural environments and beautifully preserved early twentieth century buildings added visual charm. The wife was a ray of sunshine, as well. By contrast scurrilous elements of society seemed hidden below the surface everywhere. The long train ride from the city to the country emphasized the distance between husband and wife, which they were trying to bridge hoping for a new addition to the family. No flashbacks were used, just tension from the past in situ. If there were to be a happy ending, it would have to be—God forbid—in a sequel. Runtime is 99 minutes.
Review Conclusion w/a Christian's Recommendation
The institutions themselves seem to be Christian-influenced. Danny has taken on the last name of the prison chaplain, and he quotes him in conversation, indicating some care from that quarter. Hospital personnel are familiar with the names of Jesus, Joseph and Mary; perhaps it's a Catholic place. Tom's mother puts stock in the old Puritan work ethic there in New England. The courthouse is adorned with the words: In God We Trust. The society itself, however, is going to hell in a hand basket, but that's nothing new.
This is a dark, brooding, psychological thriller with rays of sunshine trying to poke through. Skip it unless you like such a sweet-and-sour mix. It may not be for everyone, but some will like it. It's well made.
Movie Ratings
Action Factor: Weak action scenes. Suitability for children: Not rated in the U.S. Special effects: Well done special effects. Video Occasion: For niche audiences. Suspense: Don't watch this movie alone. Overall movie rating: Four stars out of five.
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