Cast: Naomi Watts, Jacob Tremblay, Charlie Heaton, Oliver Platt
Director: Farren Blackburn
Farren Blackburn may have hit a raw nerve with this film and it seems likely that he will face a string of ethical questions with regards to the ending of the story. The treatment of mentally-ill patients in a story is a gray area, but this film makes the case very strange. This speculation is more dangerous in the film because Mary Portman (Naomi Watts) a widowed mother is also a psychologist herself. Stephen Portman (Charlie Heaton), gets paralysed in an accident in which he loses his dad too. He has been bed-ridden for almost 12 years now, a long enough time for Mary to find out about the truth, or she may be a really dumb psychologist who is trying really hard to enact this plot full of errors.
The setting of the story is also very suspicious. Mary lives with her paraplegic stepson far removed from civilisation. Why on earth would someone who lives alone with a paraplegic live in such a location where it might be impossible for someone to reach in times of need? The only success that this film may claim to have is that all ghosts are nothing but the brain playing tricks due to parasomnia. So the next time you think you are seeing ghosts, you are perhaps experiencing symptoms of parasomnia. The first thing to do is get some sleep or consult an expert after all no one is going to judge you for seeking help.
The writer is founder, Lightcube Film Society
