Review:
"In the Earth"
Release Date: April 16, 2021
Rating: R Running Time: 107 minutes Ben Wheatley wrote and directed In the Earth last year during the COVID-19 pandemic. Unlike the Michael Bay-produced Songbird, though, Wheatley’s first folk-horror offering since 2013’s A Field in England is not an exploitative pandemic quickie. It is a typically thoughtful Wheatley chiller that marries an unsettling sense of place with pressing environmental concerns. Wheatley does set In the Earth against the backdrop of a pandemic. While the virus in question is not COVID-19, and Wheatley avoids showing its apparently devastating effects, its presence obviously lends In the Earth a haunting topicality. The safety protocols remain somewhat the same as we currently observe. Joel Fry’s scientist Martin Lowery undergoes a battery of familiar tests upon arriving at a remote lodge days after leaving an infected city. Once cleared, Martin and guide Alma –played by (Ellora Torchia)--begin a two-day trek deep into a forest to join the camp of a research colleague, Hayley Squires’ Olivia Wendle. The forest, though, appears to be home to an ancient presence, one that Olivia endeavors to communicate with through technology and alchemy. Driven by Clint Mansell’s hypnotic score, which respectfully complements cinematographer Nick Gillespie’s evocative presentation of the picturesque but ominous locale, In the Earth offers a slow descent into ecological weirdness that begins long before Martin and Alma reach their destination. And the pain and suffering poor Martin endures cannot be overstated, more so because Fry makes him so affable. Not that Alma emerges unscathed, but the less said, the better. And Alma—imbued with resilience by Ellora Torchia—quickly emerges as the voice of common sense when things turn deadly. Wheatly cements In the Earth as a modern-day companion piece to A Field in England through an exploration of the coexistence and conflict between man and nature, a continuing interest in alchemy and ritual, and perception-altering hallucinatory interludes. He also draws out suitably oft-kilter contributions from Squires and his A Field in England star Reece Shearsmith, as a forest squatter, that play into the subtle gallows humor used to lighten In the Earth’s foreboding mood. Unfortunately, In the Earth goes astray during its final act. Mystery gives way to endless exposition and an experiment requiring a sensory overload fails to give greater meaning to the plea to live in harmony with nature. “People get a bit funny in the woods, sometimes. Nerves. They would do well to be afraid. It is a hostile environment,” a lodge employee tells Martin when he arrives. Hostile? Yes. Justifiably? Definitely. Robert Sims Aired: April 22, 2021. Web site: https://neonrated.com/films/in-the-earth |
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