Teenagers have their own problems and desires, they want much more than the law allows them. This is the nature of people and it is very difficult to change it. At a certain age, teenagers think about things like alcohol and sex. And with the first they have the biggest problems, as just to buy a banal beer in the store can be difficult. Only an adult can help them. But if you find yourself such an assistant, then do not rejoice, because a situation can happen, as in the thriller “Ma”.
The plot of the film introduces us to a high school student Maggie, who, after the breakup of her parents, returns to her mother’s hometown, located somewhere in Ohio. It’s a place where nothing ever happens. Naturally, teenagers here are very bored and they invent all sorts of forbidden entertainment. Very soon Maggie makes friends with local guys Andy, Hailey, Chase and Darrell, who are not averse to indulge in alcohol. Yes, in the store, sellers are in no hurry to sell them what they want and then she comes to the rescue – Ma.
Ma is a middle-aged woman who lives alone in her home. She rarely sees guests, and she has very few friends, if any. And Ma decides to help the guys and buy them alcohol. The idea brings success, everyone is happy and Ma decides to go further. She offers children her home as a place to relax and those, of course, do not mind here to have fun. But at the same time, Ma has his own secrets and demands that no one ever enter the second floor. But, as you can understand, the rule will be broken sooner or later, and then we will see the true essence of the good hostess.
Quite interesting and unusual is the plot of this film. It seems to be a thriller about teenagers with their forbidden desires, but at the same time it is also a very strong dramatic film about ancient grievances and revenge. Of course, the main characters here are grown-up children who are looking for forbidden entertainment, but in my opinion, a much more interesting role went to this film by Octavia Spencer, who really shines here.
Spencer rarely gets to play title roles and mostly she vegetates in the background. However, in Ma she gets enough attention, and therefore screen time. Gradually, from a good neighbor, she turns into a dangerous and unpredictable person who for a very long time harbored hatred and resentment towards others, which means that teenagers who are friends with her can be in great danger.
“Ma” is a very interesting, dramatic and unpredictable thriller, which fully reveals the talent of Octavia Spencer and shows that it is better to wait a little and not break the law, otherwise the consequences can be the most unexpected.
The main thing in this film is its meaning. In our time, people began to evaluate films from a consumer point of view, forgetting that the film reflects not only the problems of modern society, but also invites reflection.
There is a phenomenon in America that can be called ‘nice Americans’. This is when a person always strives to be nice and polite, but never shows his true feelings, especially negative ones. Why? Because it is condemned by modern society, especially in an era of tolerance and anti-racism. But what happens when someone hurts you and you can’t respond simply because you’re ‘good’ or ‘good’ or just too shy? (Shyness means the desire to like and the fear of doing something wrong.) Too good for this bad company? Too black for these (superior) whites?
Anger turned inward for not being able to respond, defend yourself, or fight back becomes a time bomb. This is a real rage that requires going out.
The heroine of the film always wanted only one thing - not only to be accepted, to be "their own", but also to be the best. People always hate what they don’t have. And instead of directing her rage (which is nothing but action energy) to achieve her goal, the heroine prefers to punish not only her abusers, but also their offspring. The condition of the humiliated victim gives her an absolute right to retaliation. The sword of justice punishes the bad and the unbelievers.
Ma is a mother, that is, this role itself involves upbringing and punishment.
On closer examination, the film has at least three sides. On the one hand, the film reveals the consequences of bullying and the fact that each society grows its own monsters. On the other hand, it is a film about outright racism and white supremacy. The punishment for supremacy is the “black woman” (note the scene where she paints an African-American boy white as a traitor). And the third is the story of a lonely woman who cooked from her canned feelings an exquisite dish of revenge, but in this story it was too hot even for herself.
What is the audience for this story? Not to blame the director for the lack of intrigue and the fact that he was not frightened enough. Look deeper.
I’m not going to retell the script, as all those who didn’t have enough words to write something useful found it necessary. All of this is in the trailer and description of the film.
I am not a reviewer, but I will judge you.
Sofa critics (I wondered, who are all these people?)
I agree, the director missed putting it in the category of thrillers. This is pure drama, and inside a separate character, which Octavia (nominated with this film for best actress) revealed just amazingly. In general, because of this discrepancy, critics suck everything they can, because there is nothing more to write. If you accept this fact, then 90% of reviews can be deleted, but how many letters.
And the fact that Tate Taylor labeled the film as a thriller, perhaps compared to the servant, he wanted to celebrate more dynamics in the film.
In general, extremely strange criticism of Tate and Octavia and extremely unfair rating. Maybe they pulled out the whole film, but paying tribute to the talents above, the bet was not the plot but on acting and the film specifically for one actress. This is also encouraged by the fact that the director himself played Officer Granger!
It is unlikely that the director after the masterpiece “The Servant” lost his taste and understanding of how to shoot a complex interesting movie. Just apparently not everyone understood and looked for why "Saw" or "Turn the wrong way" and were upset.
About the “idea of revenge is not new” – it’s not even in revenge, but in the idea that the “good neighbor” who helps animals 24/7 in plain sight, does not cause any suspicion, your children communicate with her and no one knows what turn in her life will give an impetus to all that pain from a psycho who was broken in childhood came out and forced people to manipulate, punish them for this pain and end with it forever next to someone who loved her all her life.
This is very vital (remembering the cases in schools in Russia and the United States, when people started killing with nothing and everyone had some previous situation in life).
We do not know our neighbors, and especially do not understand what pain we sometimes inflict on people, and they live with it all their lives.
As for teenagers (including daughter Ma). Sue wasn't looking for everyone to kill. She lived with her pain and crippled psyche, and as a result, all her actions were not healthy. She was engaged in the ruinous hyper-guardianship of her daughter, so that she would not fall into the same situation. And it was only when everyone returned to their hometown, where they grew up, that Sue saw where a company of underage children could go, drinking, smoking pot, promiscuous sexual relations. The obsessive attempt to help was not heard and she was rejected rudely, later humiliated again by her former lover.
Everywhere there is a line that teenagers have extremely bad examples before their eyes, they are dysfunctional.
The director sort of whitewashes the teens a bit and adds Sue's insanity to swap the roles of victim and aggressor.
But it is then that she understands that doing good in this world is meaningless, nothing changes and the new generation will become copies of those who did this to her, she is not heard or heard and perhaps someone will be hurt. What about her daughter???
I will note that why the daughter will go to school in a stroller is explained by the example of the priest’s daughter, who pretends to sleep so as not to get drunk. And when she shows a desire to communicate with other schoolchildren, she is locked up at home.
When the forces to try to change something run out, the understanding comes that it is easier to punish everyone, then they will hear.
After all, teenage injuries, and even in such a sensitive sphere as "love, dignity, honor" cannot but have consequences - both for the "victim" and for pseudo-friends. The award always finds its heroes, it is a pity that everything is so destructive for Ma and her life. .
Probably in the work of many directors there comes a moment when it becomes cramped in the already familiar genre and want to “try something new”. Was no exception and the director Tate Taylor, who decided to abstract as much as possible from the successful drama "The Servant" and try himself in the genre of a thriller. If in the case of “The Girl on the Train” he was helped by a literary source (even if many viewers scolded the film), then in the case of this film, alas, nothing helped him.
The plot of the film revolves around a young girl Maggie, who moves with her mother to her hometown. There Maggie meets a group of teenagers who want only to smoke, drink and have fun. One day they meet Sue Anne, an adult African-American woman who offers them to buy alcohol, and later their house for their many drinks. However, neither Maggie nor her friends even suspect what will lead to their acquaintance.
One of the main drawbacks of the picture is an absolutely delusional scenario. The creators of the film decided to reinvent the bicycle and bring something new to the genre of a thriller about revenge and obsession. However, in fact, the authors came up with only an absurd and ridiculous story that would be more suited to a typical American comedy, and not for a thriller made on serious occasions. Moreover, the main intrigue of the picture is easily foreseen after a few minutes and seems so beaten that watching this film is simply not interesting. At the same time, the further the plot develops, the more the degree of delirium increases both in the actions of the main characters and in the central story arc of this tape. Putting into a huge question not only what the heroine of Octavia Spencer wanted to achieve with her actions, but also whether she really thought to get out of the water dry?
Tate Taylor is a very talented director. He made a great "The Help," which I still consider one of the best racist and segregated films I've ever seen, and a not-so-bad James Brown biopic. However, the genre of the thriller was completely alien to him. If in “Girl on the Train” it was brightened up with a good source, then against the background of the delusional script of Scotty Landis, this film Taylor does not even want to call a thriller. The atmosphere and violence in the film seems to be there, but they frankly do not work, and within the framework of the modest budget of the film, the film seems not to be a studio product, but a B film, or even worse.
The picture is trying to pull the damn talented and charismatic Octavia Spencer. Despite how uneven and delusional her character is spelled out, Spencer demonstrates excellent acting. When even with one glance she says much more than with a substantive and voluminous monologue. Diana Silvers and another "young man" played out of hand bad. Happily pleased with the presence in the film Juliette Lewis, Luke Evans, Allison Janney and Missy Pyle. But the actors got such meager characters within the script that the acting seems frankly constrained. Clearly making it clear that they can do better and more, but they are simply not given the opportunity and maneuver to do so.
4 out of 10
Ma is a frankly weak representative of the genre of action thriller and one of the few creative blunders of successful producer Jason Bloom. What seemed very interesting in the script, alas, turned out to be a film with a frankly delusional and weak script, not corresponding to the requirements of the genre of directing and a rather gray acting game, which in the aggregate cannot be blocked even by the masterful play of the damn talented Octavia Spencer.
Director of the Oscar-winning "The Servants" Tate Taylor is swinging not at William himself, so to speak, Shakespeare, but at the quite tolerable thriller “Get Out” of 2017. In Jordan Peel's film there was no excessively bloody mush, but his atmosphere and touched theme he put into the cinema halls of fog, behind which the contours of the horror movie were seen.
At first, it seems that Ma is stomping the same pavement. But suddenly, for some reason, catches the “rook” and leaves in an unknown direction.
Everyone knows that MA has the coolest parties in town. There is always loud music and alcohol is pouring. There are no restrictions in this house except one thing: never enter her room.
The film begins with a standard disposition - a mother and daughter move to a provincial town, where the latter begins to attend a new school, makes new friends, first love, partying, drinking, parties ... And only falling out of the “standard” heroine Octavia Spencer (aka Ma) makes a bad hint that something is coming out of the ordinary. The same thoughts provoked by other actors. “Natural Born Killer” Juliette Lewis, a sharp and angular Luke Evans paired with a defeated Missy Pyle, and of course a crowd of teenagers-nouneim, whom the script prophesied “minus” in canonical sequence.
Taking some time to reveal the characters – in principle, enough for the claimed genre – “Ma” throws the rod into the dark closets of the past, where someone else’s skeletons were once stored. But the hook clings to the scripted snag, the strained line breaks and hits the viewer in the face. It doesn't hurt much, but it hurts more. The scar will not leave, but you will have to burn with iodine.
Yes, you can see that Ma is trying. Extreme. Boosts the degree. In relative numbers, the intrigue draws. But if you translate the action into absolute indicators, the final degree will be very low.
Ma is an attempt to get drunk with non-alcoholic beer. Money and time wasted. There's even a mild intoxication stage. But the result is extremely far from planned.
In a word, “Ma” is a moth that defies the audience’s attention, but without a trace dies the natural death of a one-day film.
5 out of 10
Blumhouse Productions has been scaring the viewer with low-budget horror films for ten years. Among the most successful are the franchise “Astral”, the controversial series of films “Paranormal phenomenon”, the creepy “Sinister”, a good “Oculus” and, of course, the Oscar-winning picture of Jordon Peel “Out”. If desired, the list can go on, but it is already clear that to shoot horror films in Blumhouse know how and love.
Against the background of these creations released by the company in 2019, the thriller “Ma” makes a double impression: the first half of viewing can not get rid of the feeling that the film is a failure, but the second half suddenly becomes exciting and interesting, in connection with which a very bad film can not be called. It should be noted right away that there is no mysticism in the picture - this is not quite a typical slasher with a small number of murders and a very long set. The film tells the story of a single mature woman of African American descent who throws parties for teenagers. This suspicious madam (aka Ma) does not let anyone into the house, so the parties are held in the basement, and the more often the youth will hang out there, the better – such rules. Of course, teenagers can not deny themselves unexpectedly fell on them freebies – time after time they gather in the house of a stranger, in large quantities consume alcohol, and also smoke pot. Surely there should be at least one more or less sane teenager in the company who will realize that these parties will not end well. Well, at least one?
Gradually, the viewer is made to understand that the main backbone of youth is not random people - there is a certain connection between them and Ma. It turns out that once Ma was treated very badly, so sooner or later there must be inevitable retaliation. In the film, there are many inconsistencies and conventions: we are offered to believe that no one in the city does not notice how an adult woman regularly buys up booze for teenagers, watches them near school, quietly removes jewelry from drunk girls, and even more steals a large number of medicines from work - apparently, others deliberately look the other way, every time giving the woman-psychopath to carry out her plans. At some point, the main characters have real reasons to report what is happening to the police, but no one does it. Question: Why? Yes, to keep the film going! Otherwise, the viewer will not receive the final act in which blood and violence begin. However, both the first and the second give quite dosed, but goosebumps run very real.
A couple of scenes might impress you, but overall the film is pretty mediocre. The operator has nothing to praise, the soundtrack is nominally present, the plot has a couple of twists, but they are, in general, predictable. In some places, instead of scaring, the film laughs, and this is the declared genre is completely inexcusable. Playing actors here is also expressive can not be called, but still a special thank you to Luke Evans! What this guy forgot in such a second-rate thriller is unclear, but he played his small role just fine. I especially want to mention the scene where he talks to the main antagonist in the cafe - who saw, he understands how cool Evans was in this scene. It is amazing that the actor, lit up in such high-profile franchises as “Fast and Furious” and “The Hobbit”, showed his skill more vividly in such a passing film.
For lovers of horror movies, the picture will seem boring and almost not scary. Well, for the rest, this is an average thriller for once - if it bypasses you, you will not lose anything special.
I admit, I was waiting for real meat from the film, the benefit of the trailer was intriguing. A woman who buys alcohol, lets her party in the basement of her house, but suddenly turns out to be a psychopath and a real parasite. I always liked such concepts, so I was waiting for a meat, but I did not take into account that this is a thriller, and therefore I was disappointed a little.
The plot is simple. A group of friends are going to drink and smoke, but they are not going to sell the drink. But suddenly a middle-aged woman passes by, hearing the problem apparently catches life flashbacks and buys teenagers alcohol. Next party, everyone loves and respects. But over time, A begins to annoy teenagers, and in addition, behave strangely. And then spoilers. The plot does not shine with originality, because the theme of revenge has been interpreted billions of times. The coolest twists from the film should not be expected, everything is quite predictable. In addition, with timekeeping at 1 hour and 40 minutes, it is tedious, although in fact only the MA character is revealed, the rest are not particularly disclosed. In the middle of the film, we already understand the motives of MA, and it seems that you can proceed to the final, but then wandering teenagers, partying, sending out videoos.
The characters here are the most standard, except for the heroine of this celebration - MA. Octavia Spencer once again proved that she is an excellent actress. She felt and disappeared into her character. The tension was caused by just looking, the injection of suspense, too. And her unemotional appearance in the final is simply amazing. Mocking poor schoolchildren to be a real stone (not in terms of play, the actress's play just drags in this case) bravo, just bravo. After that, the MA itself is revealed very well, its motives are clear, it is cruel, revenge is sweet.
The atmosphere of the film is also good, mostly it appears at the end or near the end. In the beginning and middle of the film, the usual pastime of teenagers. But Spencer’s play and the music in the right places do everything in the end, even if it failed to brighten the gray middle of the film, but still.
Operator work, music is also at a good level. With a low budget, everything was shown beautifully, without tinkering, even party scenes (some operators sin this).
In the end, we get a good thriller for the evening viewing. With a normal plot, good characters, a good atmosphere. Yes, there were stupid, illogical, too, but this whole movie does not spoil. It may be a bit tedious, but you just have to be patient, because closer to the final everything starts to unwind.
General impression: When watching films, absolutely different genres, I try to find pros, even if the movie is low-budget (more often it happens that much better!), there is definitely a plus!
So let me tell you one plus this picture: actors — Octavia Spencer, Luke “don’t know what I’m doing here” Evans, Juliette Lewis, Allison “I don’t know what I’m doing here either” Jenny. All these famous faces are not required to be globally immersed in the dramatic part or tilted into the comedic component. You just need to be on screen, keeping the movie within the reach of fame. Many went to this movie for the sake of famous actors. Sometimes I thought the actors were just in the wrong location, doing the same movie, and running into this to show “Hey, hey, I’m Luke Evans, bye!” As for teenagers, more attention is focused on them here, there is already a claim, but I do not want to disassemble their game, it is quite suitable, but sometimes the curves still slipped, this is not buffoonery! That's it. Now to the minuses.
Abhorrent script with a bunch of absurdities and plot holes, when viewing it created the feeling that the editor cut the scenes, forgetting the meaningful, so it came out "I made him from what was." The target material is certainly there, but what is in the source is just a nightmare. Accordingly, there is a wretched plot with a trivial beginning and the same end. There are no filigree-played events, there is no intrigue, and everyone was pulling what was in Ma’s room?! There is no deep morality, no thoughts, nothing.
Jumping different genres is also not in the hands of the film. Movies can’t focus and focus on one thing. As a rule, in horrors they try to make jokes, to discharge the situation, to play out actions. And in quality tapes, it works hurrah. There are half smiles, but horribly cliched. Bad here and with the tension, the claimed genre listed a thriller, but it's a thriller here just the title. Barely fluctuating in the wind, the genre tries to get out on simple techniques, the emotional expression came out disastrous, everything is simple, the director does not know how to shoot in this genre. If you can't, don't do it. I'm sure if there's another world, Hitchcock is laughing now.
It is not clear what the director wanted to convey, the film in which the intrigue is stated, but it is read in the first half, it is such a pleasure. And the topic of resentment and revenge is worn, without intrigue is not interesting. And by and large, while watching a movie, you ask yourself questions that are not answered, and these are not the important thoughts of metaphor and symbolism. This is their category - why am I watching this and when will it end? Amazing, but there are praises for this creation, a matter of taste, as they say. I don’t want to spend time on this movie.
In the late 80s and first half of the 90s, cinematic addictive behavior was the prerogative of white women: "Fatal Attraction," "Basic Instinct," "The Ragged Blade," "Lonely White Woman," "The Hand Rocking the Cradle." It seemed that the popularity of films about mad and obsessed feminins has long sunk into oblivion, but this year the prolific producer Jason Bloom, for 15 years successfully forging horror-thriller iron in Hollywood, decided to slightly revive this genre corpse. In accordance with current film trends, the main role is carefully assigned to the African-American Oscar-bearer Octavia Spencer. And this choice is undoubtedly the main reason for which it is worth paying attention to this thriller. But, if in the above-mentioned genre examples, brilliant performances of Hollywood divas framed well-written exciting stories, thanks to which these films with suspense are reviewed to this day, then in Ma. Spencer idly squanders his acting potential, choking in the clutches of a banal and clumsy script.
Not only is the story for this genre developing at a snail's speed, even despite the numerous plot hooks that the authors try to pick up a bored viewer, but most twists can be easily nawanged in the first half hour. Because of this, you watch the action with a light laziness, and the young actor’s growth is too tightly beaming his eyes and furiously trying to give out a semblance of fear.
But most discouraging to terribly sloppy installation. For a long time, I have not seen such a hack: some episodes are threaded with some spitting negligence, because of which the already clumsyly prescribed motivation of the main characters is enhanced by a fairly puzzling illogical event.
“Ma” is perceived as a kind of fanfiction, which the writers pasted, nostalgic for the times when the box office was ruled by insidious villains, and those who want only to earn extra money, and not give this naphthalene plot a modern cinematic gloss.
The authors failed to successfully combine the psychology of a mad woman with the concept of a youth thriller, so that the acting efforts of Octavia Spencer are perceived more as a ridiculous character clownade than a full-fledged drama of a broken and lonely heroine.
Verdict: Ma, Kulik is disappointed with your swamp!
I will write immediately, in my opinion, to watch the film is worth it, but only for fans of such a wonderful actress under the name Octavia Spencer.
I'll write it in a rather confused and concise way. Main ' villain', in the face of many familiar actress, as many will consider true, pulls the plot, like most of the interesting moments that the film was, but the feeling of a poorly survived orange, haunts throughout the viewing.
From the beginning of watching the film, I was waiting for the creators to reveal the atmosphere in the film, since the trailer was intriguing and gave a lot of hope, so the viewing obviously for me, began with high expectations, which unfortunately did not materialize.
There were a few things that I find ridiculous about this picture, namely that the absolutely incomprehensible moments that should alert and make people think did not affect the actions and specific opinions of the group of friends. Further, in the course of the film, the script took into account the film ' curtains' c incomprehensible story inserts, but it turned out to be incongruous, showing that the characters in the film were not gifted with intelligence, even considering the fact that this is a group of teenagers. During the viewing, it will immediately become clear what we are talking about (I can not tell without the veil, because there will be spoilers).
For me, the film did not take place in its genre sphere and the idea that lies close to it, the atmosphere is absent, interest quickly disappeared, the film keeps the viewer in a certain tension, but there was not enough weighty & #39; raisins & #39; to bring the film to a level higher.
The picture is definitely not the worst and far from the most progressive in the genre, but if you are hooked by the trailer or you just want to watch Octavia Spencer’s game, then you should definitely watch the movie.
Many of us (no need to raise our hands) would like to have a generous senior friend in school. A kind of bulldy who does not cross the border; a man who is ready to organize a “list”, condescending, perhaps eccentric. Often we really at a young age found ourselves in the company of such people, getting to them through acquaintances or friends. It’s not so hard to feel the premise of the thriller “Ma” – five teenagers decide to hang out in the basement of a friendly black woman of middle age. It is easy to guess that such an acquaintance, both in real life and in the world of cinema, turns into a tragedy.
"Ma" is hard to take seriously. The formula of the picture is too oversaturated, forcing contrived situations to combine. However, it is interesting that the viewer is literally manipulated while watching. The novelty and, I dare say, conciseness of this film project is a good factor that can attract attention. “Ma” may be secondary, but it is certainly unusual.
So, in a small gray town in Ohio lives a girl Maggie and her mother Erica. My mother and daughter have recently returned to the city. Maggie finds new friends among local teenagers and, suddenly, a single woman Sue-Anne nicknamed Ma. Ma buys the kids drinks and gives them his basement to hang out with. It is clear that Ma has his own tragic story and with the same teenage heroes not everything is so clear.
The most important element of Ma, oddly enough, is Ma herself – Octavia Spencer. On the one hand, she is represented by a kind of loser who is trying to become her own among hipsters. Then she reincarnates as an elderly party-goer; a depraved "maman" who likes to stick to young people. And in the end it turns out that Ma is a sinister manipulator; an evil lunatic with a thirst for revenge. It is not surprising that Tate Taylor, the director of “The Servants” and “The Girls on the Train”, decided to present such a disgusting film character. Shooting a not-so-commercially-high thriller for Taylor's Blumhouse feels like a way to relax and make a film about what the director is interested in. However, in the era of Jordan Peel, it does not seem that Taylor lost his grip, so he decided to turn to such a strange topic.
The script, which drew the attention of the film crew, actually looks like a frank black comedy (the colors of a black hole) in the spirit of Landis (the other, albeit the author of the script was a surname). However, Taylor leans towards the real thriller, adding psychologically imbued flashbacks and a couple more themes. The expectation of violence is very good, however, when the plot turns into full-blown horror, the degree of cruelty and tempo of the narrative become irrelevant. When Ma as a character reveals all the cards, the script doesn’t have time to build suspense. The writers have to “sculpt the humpback” from the point of view of the villainy of the central antagonist, not fully pressing Sue-Anne’s teenage problems and her transition to pure evil.
The main actor was, obviously, Octavia Spencer. She gives more to the film than she receives from it; an actress can convey her character’s intentions with a glance or a smile. It's pure acting. Spencer felt the character inside and out, and used that knowledge in Sue-Anne's facial expressions and habits. Diana Silvers was also a strong actress. She's believable as a teenage rookie, but the fighting daughter of a single mother. Without Spencer and Silvers, the movie would have fallen apart.
The production design of “Ma” creates an aura of a not very high-quality thriller, whose atmosphere is conveyed only by sketches, but Taylor still managed to endow his film with a little magic. This film can be taken with frivolous irony: effectively using talented actors and adhering to a simplified script, Ma is clearly not aimed at the most demanding audience. Nevertheless, the film project contains several interesting tricks that put the film a step above its counterparts in the “stalkerian” or horror films, where a crazy hermit brings to white heat representatives of the American middle class. 100 minutes of missed memes, molded into a single psychological thriller, lost in its message, because all the thrills die at the start.
6 out of 10
Most of all in modern cinema irritates the desire of film producers to give wishful thinking. This can be justified by the desire to attract as large an audience as possible to your project, but for some reason no one thinks that disappointed viewers, most likely, will never again vote in rubles for the director who has deceived expectations. The trailer promised us a youth psychological horror, in which there will be many sudden turns and brutal murders. In fact, the seller under the guise of a rosy apple handed a rotten scrap into our hands.
Ma or Sue Ann (Octavia Spencer) at first appeared to a group of teenagers as a friendly, albeit slightly eccentric, middle-aged woman who simply had no friends. She helped the guys with alcohol and a place to have fun. And now Sue on a permanent basis organizes a constant binge with the involvement of young people. It's weird, you can't say anything, but you can feel sorry for a poor woman. However, it is not for nothing that Spencer’s face adorns the cover of the film. Therefore, soon the woman begins to show her cruel nature and true intentions.
The description sounds very interesting. Unfortunately, the American director Tate Taylor failed to convey the atmosphere of psychological tension. There's only one moment in the whole movie where goosebumps run through the body. For a horror movie, it's almost a complete failure. In addition, the development of events is boring to watch. There has been no development here for a long time - complete stagnation of all processes. Guys banana Ma on Instagram, find out the relationship between themselves and generally for some time do not pay attention to the main character of the tape.
And yet, in ' Ma' there is one indisputable advantage - in fact, Ma herself, or rather, the actress playing her - Octavia Spencer. What the director couldn’t do was Spencer herself. She really managed to demonstrate on the screen a mentally ill woman suffering from the complexes of youth. With what expression she began to do terrible things, how she smiled, looking at the torment of the children – all this is truly praiseworthy. It is a pity that the acting talent failed in this case to smooth out all the sharp corners.
' Ma' is a mediocre youth horror film, which can be classified with a great stretch in the genre 'horror'. Better pay attention to the work of another American director Jordan Peel. This is who really managed to create a quality psychological thriller (Get away).
6 out of 10
Seeing the poster film “Get Out” I expected another masterpiece, but it turned out a little wrong.
In a nutshell, the film is normal.
When you sit in a chair, you expect to see an action-packed thriller, with stunning musical accompaniment, excellent acting, original script and good camera work, but it turns out that you are watching a simple and not standing out among the many horror films about teenagers. The main characters, a group of teenagers, for the most part, are devoid of characters, and instead endowed with stupidity, as in weak slashers. The main plot twist is revealed quickly enough, but in fact, according to the laws of the thriller, the intrigue must remain until the end of the film. However, there are good moments, for example, the acting of Octavia Spencer was interesting and pleasant to watch. Still, black female maniacs are a rarity in cinema, especially when you consider that this is her first role in a malevolent role. Also in the cinema, a relaxed atmosphere of teenage hangouts is well created, which becomes tense by the end of the film. The first thirty minutes, that is, before the disclosure of the main intrigue, it is very interesting to watch where the plot goes.
In the end, the movie is not bad or good, but normal. You can see if you want to give your brain a rest.
Having started his career with a rather remarkable, but by no means outstanding comedy “Beautiful Freaks”, director Tate Taylor could well continue to create in a given direction, while abandoning risky creative experiments. Nevertheless, Tate’s ambitions proved to be much more extensive, from which he considered it necessary to look much further than other colleagues in comedy, taking up the difficult subject of black servants by American standards, who had to tell many complex and sometimes tragic episodes in their lifetime. At first it seemed that the candidacy of a completely inexperienced Tate is far from the best for him to take on “The Help”, and yet the director managed to convince the producers that he could cope with the tasks, after which he immediately began the filming process, producing one of the most remarkable films of the decade. Intriguing, dramatic, moderately ironic and instantly memorable story without problems found a path to the hearts of his audience, and Octavia Spencer even received for her role fully deserved “Oscar”. Tate Taylor himself proved that the director of a modest comedy is quite capable of much more serious revelations and gained fame as one of the most promising filmmakers of our time. And since Taylor managed to change the direction of his career from comedy to drama, which is nominated for an Oscar, it means that he could try his luck in other genre directions, because he always wanted to test himself in a thriller, where for many years the brilliant David Fincher ruled. However, this time luck bypassed Taylor, and twice in a row.
Having received after the award ceremony of the American Film Academy almost unlimited credit of trust, Tate Taylor began the film adaptation of the novel “The Girl on the Train”, written by the writer, known for “Gone Girl”, which at one time was transferred to the big screens by the already mentioned David Fincher. But despite the fact that the book had a special dramatic intrigue and skillfully developed the characters of his most complex characters, Taylor failed to take advantage of the strengths of the original, shooting a rather faded and predictable spectacle in which the most valuable was Emily Blunt's games. However, the “Girl on the Train” could not be called an absolute failure, and many viewers judged that the director did not fall, but only stumbled, and at all costs it is necessary to give him another chance to prove himself, shooting the true thriller of his dreams. Apparently, this is what the famous producer Jason Bloom thought when he offered Taylor to put a tape called “Ma”, the script for which was written by Scotty Landis, not the most eminent, but rather promising author. And the director simply could not refuse such a tempting offer, simultaneously taking Octavia Spencer with him to the set, with whom he worked so successfully in The Help. But for all the ambitions and desire to prove himself in a difficult genre from the best side, Tate Taylor shot a frankly controversial film that does not go to any comparison with what he managed to do with complex life drama and even light unassuming comedy.
Directly the plot of the film revolves around a high school girl Maggie (Diana Silvers), who has to move with her mother Erica (Julietta Lewis) to the last childhood town, which she rarely remembered, but difficult life circumstances force the heroine to make a bold decision. And it seems that at first everything went pretty well, Maggie even made new friends, and Erica got a job that allows you to more or less support the family. The only trouble is that in a small town, it is very difficult for a young girl and her company to occupy themselves with something interesting, and therefore they have to look for dubious entertainment like buying alcohol. And it does not matter that they are not yet adults, because their neighbor is the sweetest Sue Ann (Spencer), ready at any time to help bored youth. What’s more, Sue Anne, whom Maggie’s co-fellows nicknamed simply “Ma,” isn’t averse to having the kids party at her house. Of the inviolable rules, Ma distinguishes only one thing: in no case and never guests should look into her private room, while otherwise they are entitled to do whatever they want. Naturally, our heroes are not able to refuse the gift of fate, but the interest in what is in the Ma room sooner or later will outweigh, after which the madness will begin, which the guys could not dream even in the most terrible dream. And in its center is a faded image of the good-natured “Ma”, gradually turning into a mad villain.
The main idea of the film is really interesting, because this story could well happen in reality, and no one is really safe from it. The director also needed to strengthen the plot basis with a strong suspense and scatter intriguing clues to the true motives of Sue Anne, which should have remained a mystery for us for a long time. But instead, Tate Taylor quickly reveals to us the essence of what is happening, and in such a situation, the motives of Ma are completely uninteresting, because we perfectly understand from whom to expect an unexpected blow. Of course, Octavia Spencer tries her best, tries to bring a fair share of her own dramatic flair to a straight-line scenario, and sometimes even confuses the narrative, making it deeper. But in the context of the film as a whole, it must be admitted that her efforts are frankly not enough to give the story a much greater dynamic and to get at least some intrigue out. Tate Taylor doesn’t seem to know what he wants to show, and the only thing he does best is the creative freedom for Octavia Spencer. That’s why the director is still worth commending, because he could well hack the only thing that works perfectly here. But this does not detract from the frankly painfully creeping time, which practically to the very climax shows us nothing significant.
Most of the timekeeping, viewers have to watch the schematic parties of friends who frankly do not know what to do. Guys aimlessly wander around the house, drink alcohol and talk on some completely detached topics. It is impossible to find something interesting here, and if it were not for the periodic appearance of the heroine Octavia Spencer, the spectacle would be sad to the end. Apparently, Tate Taylor was trying to spur our interest in the climax, because the scenes of drunkenness and other entertainment in theory were supposed to properly introduce us to the company of guys, but in fact, none of this from the Director does not work. Further simple script sketches characters Maggie and her friends did not go away, which means that Taylor threw precious screen time in vain, thereby committing a serious crime, because there is nothing worse than a boring thriller that kills a great idea.
5 out of 10
Childish cruelty and a roof gone. How Octavia Spencer pulled a thriller
The story pleased with an almost non-standard tie. A group of teenagers unexpectedly do not go for a weekend in the woods, on the lake or in the mountains, where they would be waiting for a monster or a group of maniacs. A company of high school students chooses a safe way to spend their free time in secret from their parents - to hang out at home with a pretty aunt, an employee of the local veterinary clinic.
According to the classics, an almost idyllic beginning seems to be somewhere near the end of the first act, resulting in something that portends trouble. Or at least a hint of it. But no - suspense is growing, the expectation that something is about to happen, go not according to plan, increases, but this & #39; something & #39; does not happen. And so on until the third act. The exception is the flashbacks of the heroine Octavia Spencer, which seem to hint to the viewer that the aunt from the veterinary clinic is not as simple as it seems.
History stretches like gum - slow and sticky. At the same time, it is worth paying tribute to the writers: the feeling of impending disaster does not disappear anywhere. Here, thanks to Octavia Spencer's excellent performance - she is like a locomotive dragging the story from the first minute to the third act.
Hunting to cheerful drunks, teenagers behave typically: a complete lack of self-preservation instinct, multiplied by pofigism, results in a problem: the victim drives himself into a trap. That's what the villain wants.
The motivation of Octavia Spencer’s character is unclear. If the writers tried to blame it on trauma in the past, it is not clear why the woman broke through in the here and now. Indistinct flashbacks, now and then tearing the narrative, do not give a clear answer. More likely, even more confusing. However, thanks to flashbacks, which are superimposed on the events that occur with your aunt in the present, the message shines through - children are cruel at all times and there is no escape from this, especially if you are a victim and a loser by nature.
The main ' fear and horror' falls in the middle of the third act. The heat comes abruptly and deafeningly. ' The main villain' flies off the rails, and the story turns into a bloody crumb. Strange, but fine.
Another amazing point is the placement of all the dots on the i at the end of the third act. The denouement happens very quickly and easily, as by the wave of a magic wand. There is no false victory for you, no moment when ' everything is lost and there is no way out ' There was a feeling that the denouement was written in a hurry - logically brought the story to an end and that's all.
Is it worth watching? You should. Because of the atmosphere, the pleasant play of Octavia Spencer and the famously stretched suspense for the whole history.
6 out of 10
A light thriller with an uncomplicated, but very interesting plot. It is definitely worth going for if you know the chic actress Octavia Spencer. Briefly my impressions of the film without a spoiler for the plot - traditionally write below.
The review will be short enough. The film, in general, does not pretend to be original, although it is not a horror movie, but just a thriller. It won't be much in the blood-intestines-meat, you don't have to worry. Ideas of such films, you can say, generally grow legs from Freddy Krueger, if you know what I mean. But at the same time, Ma’s movie turned out... If not some revelation or wow, it is quite a strong representative of the genre.
The viewer is gradually, sometimes with the help of flashbacks, introduced to the characters and the story of the main character, played here by Octavia Spencer. It is she who drags the film almost with her teeth on her fragile shoulders. At first, a seemingly adult aunt decides to shake the old days and light up with young schoolchildren (here is Tesak), helping them get a booze and even providing her garage to walk with friends without fear of being caught by cops. But then, traditionally, something starts to go wrong.
The mystery of the plot itself in this thriller is clicked quite simply, it is easy to solve at most in the middle of the film. However, this development of events is still quite cheerful and interesting.
Over. At least an interesting one-time movie. If not in the cinema, then one of the home evenings will definitely help to pass. The plot is not complicated, but moderately dynamic and exciting.
"Ma" is quite interesting at the concept level: first, it is curious to see how the sweetest Oscar-winning Octavia Spencer ("Hidden Figures", "The Shape of Water") is reincarnated in the likeness of the evil Mrs. Voorhees, and secondly, the interesting episode - young people break away in the house at a strange aunt. However, it may be disappointing.
It seems that there is no need to invent the formula of horror – a percussive “scary” plot, a deceptively idyllic beginning, then the tension increases, the amplitude expands, and ends in a bloody mess. But no. In “Ma”, a good 90% of the film is spent on rocking – the first blood will be shed dangerously close to the final credits. Yes, the last quarter of an hour may well claim the title of horror, including such sweet clichés as throwing locked prisoners in the basement, completely ignoring the open door. But that's not enough. What is the main part of the picture? That can be interpreted as “disclosure of the character”. That’s only in the case of Ma, the authors, on the one hand, too early opened the cards – the heroine almost immediately begins to shit teenagers, so that her actions no one is surprised (not to mention the trailer, fully revealing the intrigue), and on the other hand, the bad aunt drags rubber for too long, without going to bloody-decisive actions. So it turns out that instead of horror, we look in our own interesting, but still drama.
At the same time, director Tate Taylor (he, by the way, plays the episodic role of a policeman) is difficult to reproach for indifference to the classics. The idea of an aggrieved girl who will brutally retaliate to the best of her abilities is reminiscent of “Carrie,” and the relationship between generations of “fathers” and “children” bound by a dirty secret in the past brings to mind the “Nightmare on Elm Street.” The heroine herself turned out quite, um, voluminous - thanks to the stretched chain of flashbacks, we see how the ugly duckling turns ... into a nasty duck that decided to spoil the dances of "little swans." But mistakenly chosen temporism and the desire to bring the story under a convenient marketing denominator leads to disappointment.
In anticipation of a bloody denouement, the viewer can pass the time, surprised to find stars of the first magnitude in episodic and even microscopic roles. So, the head of the veterinary clinic, where Ma works, plays Oscar-winning Allison Jenny - despite the fact that in her place could be absolutely any actress. Perhaps Jenny came to the project “for friendship” – after all, she starred with Spencer in “The Help”. Once a young and sweet Juliette Lieus plays a harsh mother - this can not be surprising: Lewis' career can not be called exemplary-lucky. But what does the super-popular Luke Evans do in this movie? Yes, the actor has already appeared in slashers, but in Nobody Survived he plays the main maniac role, and was then only at the height of his career, but now what is he doing here in the role for five minutes?
It’s hard to say anything bad about young people in Ma, as well as something good. All of them work out their types: a brazen alpha-blonde, financial-gel-modest, a friendly African-American, a local handsome - you start unwittingly looking for the edges of the camera from "The Cabin in the Woods." The viewer does not have time to feel sympathy for them, and they, by the standards of a slasher, did not get so much (although being painted with white paint for an African-American is probably VERY traumatic ...).
So let's wish Octavia Spencer a variety of roles - her range is really very wide - and Tate Taylor more accurately choose genre landmarks. And they can do it. But now the horror is too "ma..."
6 out of 10
Greetings to all cinematics and lovers of horror! Today I will tell you about my impressions of the new picture of the studio “Blumhouse” – “Ma”. In the center of the plot are five ordinary teenagers living in a small town. Heroes, once again wanting to hang out, ask an unfamiliar black woman Sue Anne, nicknamed “Ma”, to buy them alcohol. She does not refuse, but at the same time invites you to have fun in the basement of her house, where it is quiet and safe. The guys involuntarily accept the offer, now gathering time after time exclusively at Ma. But soon friends begin to notice some strangeness and doubt the benevolence of the lovely aunt who sheltered them.
The film is directed by Tate Taylor, who previously directed the unsuccessful Girl on the Train. Clearly inspired by the creations of Jordan Peel, Taylor wanted to repeat the success of the author of the films “Get Out” and “We” and create a specific thriller. But did you succeed? I don't think so. Let’s find out why.
First of all, caste. The role of “Ma” performed Octavia Spencer, who managed to convey all the “creepy” and inner pain of the heroine. Sometimes Sue Anne felt sorry for a moment, and the rest of the time she was freaking out. Luke Evans was wildly pleased, although he was absolutely not needed in the film. The role is too unremarkable, uninteresting, besides small, but played a hundred points. In addition to him, Juliet Lewis lit up here, worthy of playing an insistent single mother of one of the heroines. Actress Diana Silvers and her “friends”, surprisingly, did not annoy, even if they did not shine with good play. If I were to evaluate the game in general, I would put a four. This is probably the most important part of the film.
Neither the promised thriller or horror here does not smell. For the whole viewing I was scared only 1 time, scenes that could throw in shock was about 2. For a big-budget film that claims the genres of “thriller” and “horror” – this is colossal little. But what was really scary was the behavior of Ma throughout the viewing. That's what they should have feared.
The film is full of controversial moments that made me completely puzzled. For example, teenagers went drinking to a total stranger who invited them to her basement. Never suspicious, agree! None of the heroes with such a strange proposal even asked a single unnecessary question. Keep going. “Ma” was stealing medication from work, did not perform their duties, but no one noticed. Why? What, no cameras? Plus, if an employee is in doubt, they are either fired or watched closely, as I thought. Sue Anne does everything with impunity. Or here’s another weird thing: when kids start to suspect something “wrong,” why not call their parents, let alone the police? Instead, the characters give up on it and keep having fun. Genius!
The first 70 minutes are devoted to drinking teenagers and their walks. This is not shown as interesting as possible. In other words, the narrative here is very cumbersome and boring. The tape swayed to obscenity for a long time, because of what after the first half of the tape I wanted to get up and leave the hall.
I was very upset when I learned that the Ma motif turned out to be a clichéd level 100 banalism. It's made up of a damn teenage resentment from 20 years ago. It turned into revenge, which broke out inside the character after a long time. You could have come up with something more original.
I'll summarize. I expected a dynamic thriller with elements of horror and detective, but everything turned out to be simpler and more cliched. Oh, and the fault of my good expectations was the appetizing trailer, which did not fucking match the content of the picture and was misleading. The film had a huge potential, which the writers successfully destroyed. I do not recommend going to the cinema, and at home in a large company, probably, "seeable."
4 out of 10
Having released in 2011 the glorious anti-racist drama The Help, actor, screenwriter and director Tate Taylor decided to try himself in the genre of a thriller, filming Paula Hawkins’ bestseller The Girl on the Train. The movie came out liquid and weak, holding exclusively on the excellent game of Emily Blunt and criticism in general did not like, but collected a good box office. Taylor’s hands did not drop and he, apparently, impressed with the works of Jordan Peel, also wanted to create some original horror project on a racial theme, inviting his favorite Octavia Spencer to the lead role. Did he do it this time?
So, Maggie moves with her mother to a small town in Ohio, where her parent grew up and studied. There she quickly makes friends who ask her to hang out, but the trouble is that no one agrees to buy a drink to minors. A random passerby, good-natured black aunt Sue Ann, who dared to buy high school booze, comes to the rescue. The guys decide to continue to appeal to a cheerful and understanding lady on this issue, quickly give her the nickname Ma, and suddenly the woman offers them not to go around the corners, but to hang in the basement of her house, where it is quiet, cozy and safe. True, there is one rule - it categorically forbids anyone to go upstairs and enter the rooms, but cheerful young people are not particularly concerned. But one day the ban will predictably be violated, and Ma herself will suddenly turn from a kind party girl into an annoying maniac.
The idea for this film, according to the director, was born out of his desire to shoot, as he put it, “something fucked up” and Spencer’s desire to finally play the main and different role from her other work. In fact, there were not so many black maniacs on the screen, and it was already very interesting to watch the transformation of the soulful and broken Octavia into an ominous fury. That’s just the key phrase here will be the expression “fucked up” in the sense of “fuck up”, because Taylor again demonstrates his complete incompetence in staging the thriller and especially horror. The movie begins quite nicely - the director introduces the characters well, outlines a light and uncomplicated atmosphere, introduces a lot of humor and irony, but as soon as the plot twists begin, the picture quickly flies off the rut and begins to resemble a car that drove for a long time on a flat road and suddenly punctured the wheel, but continued to move convulsively further.
The main intrigue about why Ma creates all his oddities, clears up quite quickly, by the end of the first 30 minutes, and then chews up a few curved and straight flashbacks, so to follow the predictable plot becomes not very interesting. Taylor lacks the courage and imagination to turn around in full force as he planned - racial issues are raised toothlessly, satire on the lives of small-town residents comes out petty, as well as images of grown-up bums, and horror moments and suspense are so clumsy, confused and sloppy that sometimes it seems as if the viewer is returned to the naive 90s. Taylor invited a bunch of famous actors with whom he worked previously to secondary and episodic roles (Luke Evans, Allison Janney, Missy Pyle, lit up even himself as a cop), but almost all their characters came out gray, inexpressive and not too effectively involved in the plot. What is most hurtful, Octavia honestly tries to fill her clichéd heroine with personal energy, charm and vitality, but she does not get a crazy villain. Spencer appears in the frame of any: cheerful, sad, reckless, dramatic, angry, but not terrible, transformation into a creepy psychopath with a knife does not come out at all. And yet it is she who turns out to be the soul and salvation of this, albeit not a failed and rather cheerful-looking, but too banal and passable picture, loudly declaring - Mr. Taylor, return to the production of good dramas and do not waste time on thrillers, well, it is not yours at all.
6 out of 10
Greetings to everyone who is reading my review of this film.
'Ma' announced as something similar to the film 'Out', which was very unambiguous and versatile. It could be viewed from different angles, but the film really impressed many, even those who were still not happy with anything.
' Ma' does not try to strain the viewer with a psychological stampede from this and still, does not try to get into the ears with creepy sound, and does not even attack with an abundance of screeners, no, the film has its own shades of black, not similar to the shades of other films. Watching the film, there is no constant sensation ' the playful bend of fear' the film looks simple and easy, but at the same time, the film gets under your skin, so relaxed and imperceptible, when you think that everything is under your control, then the bait is already inside you!
The plot doesn't shine with anything new. Normal and simple. But that's his plus. Despite the simplicity, I couldn't always foresee what would come next, it's a huge rarity these days. Everything turns out the way the film needs, in a deviation from the predictions of the viewer, the film gives many surprises, sometimes horribly frightening. It really hurts. But the key is not the story.
Whatever the plot, if the cast does not work and does not play with bright colors, everything will seem insignificant. That's why Octavia Spencer's acting in an indescribable way was able to inject tons of emotion into my body. Her facial expressions, movements, even her look fit this film like dark glasses to a terminator. It was the acting, the main person of the tape - was able to do everything to make the uncomplicated plot feel terrible, from the mere presence of this girl on the screen. I think if you invite her to act in any other film, goosebumps will go for a walk on their own, it would be funny to see how it would embellish a franchise like 'Saws'.
I don’t see the point of long reasoning, I suggest you pay tribute to Octavia Spencer, the excellent director and screenwriters, and visit the film in the cinema. Ma didn't do it like a kid, and yes. Do not offend the ladies, especially the lonely and cute ones like 'Ma'. Otherwise, at your party 'Game' it will end before it even starts.
I was with you - Georgy Semenikhin, thank you for your time, I have everything!
The theme of revenge remains one of the key in many thrillers and horror films, where a central character begins to pursue other characters, interfere in their lives or even take it away, as it turns out, for sins committed in the past. But this theme is so boring in modern cinema that the viewer is not that to scare, it is unlikely to be interested in the film. However, this did not stop Tate Taylor, who directed the thriller “Ma”.
Synopsis One day, a group of schoolchildren begs an unfamiliar black woman, Sue Ann, nicknamed “Ma”, to buy them alcohol, after which she offers them a good time in the basement of their house. The guys involuntarily agree and, taking the opportunity, turn Ma's basement into a place of their reckless parties. However, soon the guys begin to notice inexplicable oddities for Ma and doubt the benevolent intentions of the mysterious stranger.
Game of actors This is probably the only positive side of the film, albeit with reservations. Of course, first of all, I want to note the stunning performance of Octavia Spencer in the role of Ma, an eccentric “big mom” who, on the one hand, decided to shake the old days by organizing crazy parties in her own house, and on the other, unable to get rid of the pain she was caused in the past. Perhaps this is the only truly worthy role in the film, since the other actors, including even Juliet Lewis and Duke Evans, played well, but nothing new showed.
Directorship While watching the film, you immediately notice that the director shot it, who had no experience with the genre of horror films. Although Tate Taylor had the task of either scaring the viewer or putting him into a strong emotional strain, he did not cope with either task (to be honest). The fact is that the director, who previously worked with the dramatic genre, extrapolated it to this film. In addition, he pretty much delayed with the dynamics of the film, and the expected action occurs only in the last twenty minutes of the picture, which is why you do not even have time to capture the atmosphere. As a result, “Ma” turned out to be non-horror, non-thriller and even sub-drama.
Scenario Unfortunately, the script of the film also did not avoid serious problems. Before watching, you expect to see an action-packed thriller with elements of detective and horror films, and as a result, you get a completely ordinary, unremarkable movie. The plot of the film is reminiscent of classic youth thrillers, where a group of teenage schoolchildren, as usual, commits a series of rash acts and eventually find themselves in mortal danger. In Ma, a group of friends want to have fun and beg a black stranger to buy them alcohol. She shows “care” and offers to use her basement for noisy parties, in which she does not mind to participate. Any viewer will assume that Ma is doing it for a reason, that she has some kind of plan, and that this plan is not good for her. However, the problem with the script is that the viewer does not get any answers. Still remain a mystery motives of the main character in relation to teenagers. If we take into account the events from her past, presented in flashbacks, then this is far-fetched and, frankly, looks banal. Also annoying in the plot is the stupid behavior of teenagers who literally do everything possible to be cut with a knife, burned with an iron or strangled with their bare hands. As a result, instead of an intriguing detective thriller, the viewer receives a sentimental drama about an offended girl in the body of an adult woman who decided to take revenge on her abusers.
Result I can't describe Ma as a boring, uninteresting movie. Unfortunately, this film was too simple and unoriginal. All the plot twists, all the director’s techniques, all this manner of narration – all this the viewer has already seen, and instead of the expected action thriller, he is waiting for a one-time spectacle. The only thing that saves the film is Octavia Spencer, and otherwise with a stretch.
“MA” is quite good, but still a standard and not particularly outstanding thriller with elements of horror and with fairly standard problems. Against the background of the latest one-off horror films, this project stands out quite strongly for several reasons.
I'll go through the details. . .
1. Scenario
The film is about a woman named Sue Ann, nicknamed "MA," who for lack of attention years ago helps teens hang out, but who has a series of simple rules. But later, when some violated one of them, she started going crazy and doing whatever she wanted, trying to get back at them. In other words, schizophrenia in its pure form.
Indeed, the plot is interesting, but the whole storytelling is somehow scattered and at first unclear in principle. Because of this, initially it is impossible to understand what the heroine has in mind. And this confusion is one of the main problems of the picture, which greatly affects the overall perception of the project as a whole.
Fanatic, but the characters in the film don't act like sloppy idiots, morons and degenerates. The actions of the characters are quite reasonable, and some are explained by their position in such a situation ... that is, by the human factor. Yes, and the characters begin to empathize and understand, because they are not cardboard and well-registered, in particular, the “MA” itself, which just periodically really scares with its actions and behavior in general.
And in general, we get the usual good script for a cheap thriller, which comes out mainly on normally prescribed characters, and not on a confused plot, which is also delayed.
2. Actors
Octavia Spencer is absolutely gorgeous! Chic in any role, and each time plays differently and always you can not break away from the screen, because she just steals every frame due to her incredible charisma. Here she embodied the image of “MA”, which periodically amazed with her schizophrenic madness.
I also liked Diane Silvers, who played Maggie. Her character could be understood based on the situation in these events.
The others were pretty good in terms of the game. But what was unexpected for me was to see Allison Jenny, the Oscar-winning actress for her role in Tonya vs. All, and also in the episodic role of Dr. Brooks. But the surprise was quite pleasant.
As a result... It's a great piece of tape!
All are given to the full program and play to the maximum. Even those who play in episodes.
3. Atmosphere
Occasionally, the entourage gets really intimidating and tense, but that's only on the final 35% of the film. The rest of the time, the person is simply trying to understand all the drama of the events of the past years for Sue Ann, as well as clarifying some points and questions from the category: Why? Why? Schizophrenia, right?! etc.
That is, the atmosphere somehow catches the viewer, which is very good for such a low-budget thriller.
In summary:
This time, Blumhouse released a worthwhile product. This is a pretty good one-time horror thriller that will go under popcorn.
The film is very well written characters, there is a great atmosphere, good work of actors in general, as well as impeccable Octavia Spencer, who is simply chic everywhere she is shot. But the film also has an entertaining, but certainly very confused and scattered plot, which is also protracted by periods, but it has a very good idea - "Don't drink at a young age to hell, and even with adults." This is a really good message.
I will say that I liked the picture more than I didn’t, but still it remains at the level of the usual and standard horror thriller, which you can watch, and after a day already forget at least half of the timekeeping.
I advise you to watch such films, as well as companies that want to go to the movies. You should definitely go less, and with snacks, so much more.
6 out of 10