The Living and the Dead

This bizarre, disturbing film stars Leo Bill as James, a seriously unstable young man who lives with his parents in a sprawling English mansion. When his father, Lord Brocklebank, has to go away on business, he leaves his son with his terminally ill wife Nancy and hires a nurse to look after both of them. James, however, wants to prove to his parents that he's capable of taking care of his mum, so he locks Nurse Mary out. With James off his meds and alone with Nancy, he begins to lose control and things fall apart.

Watching James degenerate is like watching a train wreck- it's more sad than funny, but you can't look away. This movie has a great premise, but it feels like Simon Rumley had to stuff one hour thirty minutes running time into a fairly small (though interesting) idea, so he added unnecessary schizophrenic dream sequences to fill the gap.

What saves The Living and the Dead from being a failure, though, is the study of James' psyche. By this I don't mean the acid trip parts. Rather, James is a fascinating, tragic (though occasionally over-the-top) character. Throughout the film, he wants to be treated as an adult, not a needy burdensome man-child. It's painful to watch him administering to Mummy, trying to help her recover and make his dad 'proud of him.'

Unfortunately, though well-intentioned, James is nevertheless deranged, and the sequence of disasters leads to a depressing finale. This movie could have been a lot better, but it was worthwhile. I can see both why Jeremy Knox on Film Threat called it 'One of the best films I've ever seen' and why it was disliked by much of the general public. It was so disturbing I may never see it again. Maybe, though, I'll watch it sometime, as long as I have access to a lot of bright lights and laughter afterward. I recommend it to less sensitive viewers and people who like to 'stay off the beaten trail,' so to speak. (Rated NR)

Note about the Ending- After seeing this film, I interpreted the story in the most obvious way. When I saw a different take on Imdb, I e-mailed Simon Rumley and asked what he had meant by it. He promptly wrote back and told me he had never really decided and it was ambiguous. Both sort of make sense. If you view it, check out the response to the Imdb post "The Son" and decide for yourself.

Movie Recommendation- For another surrealistic, disturbing look into a young man in a dysfunctional environment's descent into insanity and the violent repercussions, watch The Butcher Boy.