Castle in the Ground Movie Review

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Castle in the Ground

In life, it is saddening to see how friends can immensely play a massive role in one’s bad behavior. Moreso, when it comes to substance use, friends are more likely to lure one into their company and end up being an addict. Being addicted does not just end there as they get involved in various debaucheries, which might ruin their lives forever. What is worse is how these addicts try to make a load of excuses for their manipulative behavior. These problems are a glimpse of what unfolds in Joey Klein’s an actor who turned a director’s 2019 film Castle in the Ground.

The film follows a 19 years old orthodox Jew teenager, Henry, who takes care of his dying mother, Rebecca, in Sudbury, Ontario. Every day, Henry brings her mother a cup of coffee, crushed pills, and other things. However, his mother suffers from a relapse and dies after overdosing of painkillers and fentanyl. As he tries to deal with his mother’s death, he befriends a new neighbor, Ana, who brings her friends in her house most of the time. Ana introduces him to the world of addiction and violence. Ana ends up becoming his surrogate mother, whom he continues to serve after her mother’s demise. She is so demanding that she needs money and keeps demanding Henry’s assistance to help her meet her methadone prescription. He gets accustomed to fulfilling all her needs just like he did for her mother.

While the film may be admired for its dedication to communicating a great message about drugs and its detrimental effects, it does not seem to have a well-established connection to the main characters. Despite Alex Wolff, good performances, the character he plays, Henry does not make the film any better. As portrayed in the movie, Henry does not seem to have family or even friends’ support. There is a scene that he is shown praying. Ironically, the film does not display any role his religion seems to play in his life. Besides, he has no aspirations in his life, which is one of the flaws of this film. However, Ana’s character is well portrayed. The character’s murkiness is effective and more appropriate in the movie. She is depicted as paranoid, devious, and hysterical, which are some of the character traits to expect to a drug addict.

While the characters in the film may have played their role well, one may feel Klein’s film is way too sketchy to be described as a crime melodrama or character drama. Besides, the narrow 4:3 ratio shooting by the cinematographer Bobby Shore which has many head-on-closeups where the characters in some scenes face the camera, directly looks disorienting in some way. The characters appear as if they are in a club. Also, Chris Hyson’s ambient score does not help the overall sluggish feeling of the film. Also, the way the film turns to a thriller and resembles House of Usher with deceased Henry’s mother, Ana taking a role of a doppelganger, Henry, who becomes a zombie for using drugs in its storyline does not seem compelling. Also, after Rebecca’s death, Ana adopts her phones as well as her dresses, which feels disturbing.

In conclusion, I would recommend the film Castle in the Ground as it describes how individuals may be lured into substance use and the adverse effects of drugs. Whether this subject is grotesque, redemptive, tragic, or even terrifying, it requires more attention. However, Klein’s movie depicts a dangerous territory and an unpleasant view that is not compelling at all. The film’s narrative is disappointing, and in some scenes, the cinematography does not do any good either.

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References

Klein, J. (Director). (2019). Castle in the Ground [Motion Picture].