So this whole thing is a spoiler. But we LOVED it, it’s obviously going to be a big film as for underrated indie, etc. Like The VVitch, or Hereditary, just amazing for a first timer.
The point is, this is basically a film about loss, love, regret, and guilt, and I even see a bit of the Annihilation themes of self destruction, growth, and rebirth. Her son was murdered in an occult event. That being said:
It’s made clear there are about 3 or 4 possible candidates for an occult ritual like this, and Solomon even jabs at one of them.
A mother of a murdered child seeks vengeance, especially one who doesn’t do forgiveness. She researches the world of the occult based off all the endless crime facts we do not have about her son’s death and finds Solomon.
Now it’s “Woman paying $80,000 for an occult master”, and he storms off when she says “it’s for love”, ie “you posh girls with your wayward hearts”. At the train station, she says “it’s about my son”. If love is such a weak reason, why would a guy spin on a dime about love for a son, at least in context of the occult. Maybe he’s dealing with guilt about a young boy?
Sophia hires this guy, assuming he is the murderer or involved, and wants revenge. I am not quite sure she truly believes in the occult or the spells. She even hesitates when she asks if she’s Protestant or Roman Catholic. She is willing to say or do anything to get her revenge. I almost think she 100% does think he’s a deranged and insane psycho, and we do too. *UNTIL* the scene where he rapidly defiles himself after making her remove clothes, because he’s not acting like a lurid creep, he’s rapidly accomplishing some job to become pure… ie we took this to mean he was legit purifying himself for the event. This scene came before the honesty of the bath scene.
Right before the bath scene, he says she’s not been honest, and she says an occult event killed my son… he screams and swears at her, storms out, and drinks (maybe abusing alcohol from being involved with a failed occult event that killed a young boy… ie He is suffering pain and creating self harm and has become a drunk.)
He then makes up another fake ritual, out of regret and anger, is going to kill her by drowning her in the bath (ie “you can keep on your clothes” or “I’m just resolving a problem” vs doing a ritual), then revives her because of his guilt for killing the son.
Remember, this is a film about regret and guilt and rebirth. He said his wish from the Guardian Angel is to be invisible. That might be because he’s carrying pain or sadness. But killing won’t do that, and in the moment he knows it won’t absolve the guilt, and does CPR. My thought is that it makes sense to be “reborn” but practically DROWNING SOMEONE CASUALLY FOR A SPELL IS RISKY.
After admitting her truth and surviving his guilt driven murder attempt, the occult magic started working! The occult knew she wanted revenge on the guy, standing right there, who killed her son…. which is why he got miraculously WILDLY stabbed, and starting to get sick.
**(someone in another thread said she spoke to someone/angel before going into his deathbed room, but someone said “he is the one” and I can’t verify this yet at ALL), but…
she goes into the room where he’s dying, she asks is a “god is there in the room”, namely because she knows he’s going to go to hell. He’s about to apologize for killing her son and then dies.
A smoking gun about whether he actually killed her son is that she came back to see her son’s photo randomly covered in his vomit… ie a grief stricken alcoholic wasted and staring at the photo of his guilt. It’s hard to interpret anything else than the vomit was alcoholism anchored in his guilt of killing the boy who’s picture he is staring at.
Anyhoo… she leaves, breaks the seal, the demons start breaking into the house from the basement and dragging Solomon’s body around. She ends up back at the house and, in the the basement, the surreal moment of the finger is some torture prelude or maybe a payment for breaking the circle, and as she goes upstairs to escape…. **begging for forgiveness of her son dying**, her guardian angel comes.
Sophia realizes… if she can’t forgive, why is she begging forgiveness for her son’s death, and will her son forgive her (who she never really talked to)… and will she be able to forgive herself after losing her son and going through all this, and would she even be able to move-on from forgiving Solomon for killing her son.
So, at the last moment knowing she had gotten her wish of torturing Solomon to justice, she realized the only thing she needed from her guardian angel was the ability to forgive to move forward (like her driving later on the road)… forgive Solomon, forgive herself for losing her son, forgiving herself for what she did to Solomon… and her arcangel smiled. =)
Also, it’s important to know the entire film is modeled after a very real religious concept. If you like to believe stuff, have at it, but this film is extraordinary in how well built it is around a true concept: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Book_of_Abramelin#Abramelin_operation
I like to think the film is a pontification on the notion that vengeance never resolves the truth: You’ll never get that person back. It’s like when you talk to violently angry murder victim families who just want the murderer put to death, and it is their meaning of existence… until it happens and the void and sadness becomes more overwhelming.
The film is definitely not about revenge, but resolution, and forgiveness. I’m going to have to sit on this, because I just finished, and like Annihilation when I watched it, I think I just saw a unbelievably underrated and compelling film.
If there was a US version… actors? I was thinking Hilary Swank or Natalie Portman and seriously take a stab at Seth Rogan? No way I assume, but after Color Out of Space and Mandy, Cage is GOAT. Anyhoo… the film stands alone, and unless the director Haneke’s “Funny Games” into the US market, it needs nothing else but viewers.
If there was a US version… actors? I was thinking Hilary Swank or Natalie Portman and seriously take a stab at Seth Rogan? No way I assume, but after Color Out of Space and Mandy, Cage is GOAT. Anyhoo… the film stands alone, and unless the director Haneke’s “Funny Games” into the US market, it needs nothing else but viewers.
