MRMOVIESETC
REVIEWS:
“MA” (2019)
Whenever I try to draw a comparison to the talents of
Octavia Spencer, the only other actor that comes to my mind is Paul Giamatti.
I’m not saying they are both two sides of the same coin as they are both
uniquely their own, but rather they are both outstanding actors whom are great
in all the films they are in, while not every film that they are in are always all
that good. For instance, Giamatti had “TMNT 2: Out of the Shadows” – I still
don’t understand that one – and Spencer has “MA”. There are others to be sure,
but those two stand out as the biggest question marks to me in terms of the
stage not matching the player’s abilities. Still, it’ll forever be a curiosity
to see such consistent actors go outside of their comfort zone.
“MA”, despite its good intentions as a thriller, doesn’t
work very well and likely would have been dead on arrival if not for Spencer
thinly holding it together. The other characters check off every one-dimensional
stereotype checkbox, and each are cast with actors that have done some good
things elsewhere, but are completely phoning it in here. The plot has some
interesting side-streets that don’t get fully fleshed out, though I won’t spoil
them because there is some seriously twisted-ass shit going on that keeps
things vaguely interesting from time to time. Additionally, the dialogue also
takes some really random turns in an effort to create some much-needed tension
and make the teenagers seem “bratty”, but wow, is it ever awkward in delivery.
Not even the biggest douchebag I can think of would carry conversations in this
way.
Aside from the aforementioned side-streets, the main
storyline and character arcs struggle during “MA”. It’s almost as if Scotty
Landes’ screenplay couldn’t decide whose and what story to tell. Regardless of
the fact that the concept of getting the backstory of both the protagonist and
antagonist is nothing new in books or movies, both in this film are entirely
too weak and start to run out of gas before the ninety-nine-minute runtime
expires.
The story (sort of) centers around Maggie Thompson (Diana
Silvers), and her mom Erica (Juliette Lewis), after they move back to their
Ohio hometown following the divorce of Maggie’s parents. Maggie gets quickly
approached by a group of friends in her new school, and while she doesn’t act
too terribly shy or desperate, Maggie is passive about going out to party just
yet. With Erica now being a single parent and learning the ropes of her new
job, she’s away from home regularly, and Maggie eventually gives into her
soon-to-be new friends.
In order to help her become more “outgoing”, they dare
Maggie to post up outside of a convenience store to see if they can bribe a
legal adult to by them alcohol. Enter Sue Ann Ellington, a.k.a. “MA” (Octavia
Spencer), whom happens to be walking by with her dog and catches Maggie’s eye.
At first she is reluctant to give in to the innocent-looking pleadings for
booze, but eventually Sue Ann caves after ultimately assuming that the kids
seem trustworthy enough. Soon this leads to more rendezvous’ for liquor and
hangouts in Sue Ann’s basement that she has opened up as a safe haven to throw
parties.
It becomes abundantly clear in a hurry that Sue Ann has some
deep-rooted issues that she thinks will be solved by becoming the “cool adult”
and integrating into this crowd of high school students. Eventually, Sue Ann starts
getting entirely too clingy and stalker-esque, thus making the kids
uncomfortable and they begin avoiding her. Add that to the other spoiler items
from before, and that’s when the film starts making its dark turn hinted at in
the trailers.
I really don’t want to be hard on this movie, because
once it does finally get going in the last thirty minutes or so, it gets pretty entertaining. I wouldn’t go as far as to say it’s scary or suspenseful,
because you will see a bulk of the gruesomeness a step ahead of when it arrives.
Still, it is fun to see Spencer go full crazy and terrorize a bunch of kids in
true “Fuck the World!” fashion. Heck, there were a few instances where I was
almost more on her side due to not giving a crap about any of the other
characters’ fates, and some of her rage was warranted. In that regard, I did
like the film’s moral ambiguity, as fleeting as it was.
Still, I can’t help but assert that it is the writing
that keeps “MA” from being any sort of memorable. Budget, I assume, might have
come into play as teases of good ideas were hiding just out of sight only to
get partially inserted and never fully cooked. It was either that or the only
ambition of this project was to get a good sell out of Octavia’s name and move
forward with the presumption that nothing else needed to be elevated to match
her skills, i.e., treat the audience like idiots. I hope it is the former,
because the latter is starting to get really old.
Maybe even at its best, “MA”, as an idea, could only be an
average movie. That’s not a philosophy I subscribe to, but with this one having
so many pitfalls in so many places, it seems unlikely that it would achieve
anything higher.
Sadly, I cannot force a recommendation for this one even
for the sake of its excellent lead. Bummer.
“MA”: 4.5/10
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