Directed and Written by : Alejandro Amenábar
Starring : Ethan Hawke, Emma Watson, David Thewlis, David Dencik
Release Date : October 1, 2015
In all honesty, I wanted to see "Regression" because Emma Watson is in it; most famously known for her role as Hermoine Granger in the Harry Potter series. The movie isn't primarily about her role as Angela Gray however, but her plot is the focal point of the main character's story. The main character being Bruce Kenner, a local police detective played by Ethan Hawke, who gets heavily involved with her case, which involves subject matters such as satanic cults, conspiracies, and rape. Some people might think that this is a horror movie; and some scenes might justify that description, but it's really closer to a neo-noir psychological detective thriller.
As an investigative story that deals with dark and unnerving topics, this film forces you to deal with the themes of obsession and assumptions. Because the evidence that is revealed throughout the movie has no real basis of proof, the investigation becomes a case of what the detective believes to be real or fake. We're led through several scenes were we have no idea whether it's actually the truth or a lie. This general mystery of the film is designed to be intriguing to us in the movie audience, but it's questionable as to whether it's really as interesting as it thinks it is. While I myself was generally curious to see how the story plays out until the end, the methodical pacing and the dark tone also came off as obnoxious.
The cast for the most part are good in their roles. Ethan Hawke is effective in the role of Detective Kenner who gets obsessed in the case that puts him in a rabbit hole of confusion and frustration; which the movie audience are suppose to feel as well. David Thewlis is important to the theme of the story, as the psychoanalyst who puts a lot of stock in the evidence of the hidden memories uncovered by the psychological technique of "regression therapy." Emma Watson's character background involves the Christian belief that the Devil walks the earth, which leads to a science vs faith debate that surfaces throughout the movie.
Based loosely on true events, "Regression" gives us a lot of fascinating topics to think about. The over-all mediocrity of the film's direction however, diffuses the strength of how interesting the story really is. Chalk this up as another example of a movie that could have been done better.
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