Customer Reviews

Joshua

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

"Joshua" is set in New York city and focuses on a young family comprising of Brad and Abby Cairn [Sam Rockwell and Vera Farmiga], who seem to lead a charmed life. Brad has a well-paying job, they live in a comfortable city apartment, and they have a 9-year-old son, Joshua [Jacob Kogan] who is also a gifted pianist. There is also a new baby, Lily who seems like a perfect child, quiet and lovable, but this seemingly perfect family portrait slowly unravels into a nightmarish horror as the family is plunged into one crisis after another.

It appears that harmless little Joshua, of the quiet and unassuming character, is not so benign after all. In fact, far from it - Lily's birth seems to be the catalyst that brings forth his psychopathic behavior [arguably simmering within him all along]. At first, the problems seem to have ordinary reasons - Abby seems unable to cope with the demands of motherhood [understandable given her history of depression and PPD], dad Brad seems to be the quintessential good guy, a supportive husband and dad trying to balance the demands of work and family, but the audience is never kept in the dark as to the sinister force behind the family's problems.

The acting was surprisingly good given that the main actors are not really well-known. Brad Cairn [as played by Sam Rockwell] makes a convincing husband and father and is the proverbial good guy in a bad situation. Vera Farmiga is also believable as Abby Cairn, whose misery at being unable to cope with a fussy infant and the demands of being a wife and mother added to her battle with depression is very convincing indeed - except that you tend to wonder - why does she refuse to seek help [no nanny, housekeeper, or even family rule?]. This does stretch the credulity level a bit, but still works on-screen. There is a supportive brother Ned [Dallas Roberts] who is well-liked by all, yes, even by Joshua. Too bad he doesn't appear in too many scenes. There is the zealous Christian grandmother [Celia Weston] and of course Joshua himself, played ably by Jacob Kogan. His Joshua is well-groomed at all times [nary a hair out of place],and projects a quiet sort of malevolence that permeates the scenes he appears in, and even when he isn't there, the score and sets add to the sinister atmosphere.

For fans of psychological horror, Joshua is very much reminiscent of classics like The Bad Seed [remember Rhoda?], and The Other, even The Good Son, and if you haven't seen those movies, you might want to check them out. All of them are highly atmospheric and thought-provoking. As for Joshua, it is a well-paced psychological thriller that is worth a few squirms, at least!

A lot of talk shows have recently been featuring the plight of parents under siege, afraid of their own children - parents who feel compelled to lock their bedroom doors at night. This movie deals with a more creepily contained version of such a problem. The danger isn't quite as blatant or as aggressively relentless as seen on some of the talk shows. But its subtlety makes it all the more chilling.

There are a few obvious cinematic borrowings from other famous suspense films here. For example, you might, at a few points, be reminded of Damien's targeted, juggernaut cycling scene in "The Omen." Then there is a twist on the famous "Potemkin" stairway/baby carriage scene.

But unlike those films, "Joshua" strives for and achieves the more low-key disquiet of mundane reality. And it is made all the more disturbingly realistic by the fact that not only Joshua, but all the family members are shown with at least thread-line cracks running through their personalities.

"Joshua" is a well-written, well-acted must-see for all suspense movie fans, as well as for all students of family dynamics.

This flick has been thoroughly summarized so I will skip that portion. Joshua is an overall good, creepy film. Sam Rockwell gives perhaps one of his best performances as a father who can do nothing but watch his family fall apart while some, slip into insanity. Joshua (the movie) has a very slow and deliberate pacing that constantly builds towards the end of the film. This is a clever and well thought out flick that coasted through theaters and onto DVD but none the less is more then worth the price of a rental to check out. Joshua also features a new, very good, Dave Matthews song during the end credits.

JOSHUA is the tale of Brad (Sam Rockwell) and Abby (Vera Farmiga) Cairn, perfect Manhattan parents in a perfect Manhattan apartment whose perfect life begins to crack after the birth of their second child Lily. Shortly after Lily arrives home, a dark side of prodigy son Joshua slowly begins to reveal itself.

A couple of Manhattan yuppies are expecting their second child. Their first child doesn't react to well to the presence of baby sister - in fact he goes Damien on the entire family.

Brad Cairn (Sam Rockwell) is a young stockbroker and seems to be in the money since the family lives in a nice Manhattan apartment. His wife Abby (Vera Farmiga) is expecting their second child and give birth to a little girl. The Cairn's already have a son named Joshua (Jacob Kogan).

He appears to be an extremely intelligent and attends a private school where he wears a blazer and a tie as a uniform. He also plays piano with his favorite Ned (Dallas Roberts). His mother is not having a good time with the birth of child number two and seems to be having postpartum depression. Brad is busy trying to get some big deals at work so he doesn't seem to notice at first that Joshua is acting strangely to the arrival of his little sister. In fact, he seems to be making some sort of devious plans for baby sister and also using mom's depression to his advantage (and even accentuates it).

Suddenly dad begins to have to handle mom's increasing insanity and starts notice that Joshua has plans that he's working on behind the scenes - and they're not plans that will have a happy ending.

Joshua definitely brings to mind another demonic lad - Damien from Omen (with a pinch of Rosemary's Baby thrown in for good measure). In fact, the cover basically screams that. However this naughty boy doesn't have an evil, supernatural entity that fathered him. What we do have is an intelligent boy but he's also cunning and appears to be without conscious.

Young Jacob Kogan does a decent job at portraying the role, but the adults also have been well cast as well. Sam Rockwell is more know for his comedic roles but he does well as the harried father who has to deal with his wife's depression and then learns that his young son is plotting something devious.

Vera Farmiga is also good, but has to lose her mind and this can be a bit grating, as we want her to come out of her funk. What doesn't really jibe is the reason behind his devilish ways. It doesn't really have the payoff that we might expect, but in a child's size view of the world it might make perfect sense.

If you're looking for a good horror film, this isn't it. It's a decent piece of film making from a documentary film maker.

Special features include a commentary by director George Ratliff and writer David Gilbert.

Next are 12 minutes of cast and crew interviews, 5 minutes from the Internet advertising campaign, the 3 minute audition by Kogan, the 3 minute "Fly" music video by Dave Matthews, 6 minutes of deleted scenes, and the 2 minute theatrical trailer.

Joshua is hauntingly beautiful in its music, cinematography and direction. It may not be an original concept, but it's well-done. It has its flaws though - it runs a bit longer than it should, and a main character vanishes halfway through. If you like your horror subtle, ambiguous, and thought-provoking, definitely check this out. I believe it'll gain more appreciation over time.

If you think "Joshua" is a horror movie, I suggest you always carry a spare pair of trousers with you in case you accidentally look down and see your own shadow. This movie (hilariously described as "Hitchcockian") has no idea what it wants to do--except be scary, which director/writer George Ratliff and co-writer David Gilbert pursue with all the fumbling gusto of screaming teenage fans waiting in line for a pop concert.

The story--what little there is--centers around the parents of Joshua, a supposedly brilliant nine-year-old devil-child, and how everything basically goes to hell once Joshua's baby sister is born. OK, stop. Let's take this one step at a time.

How do we know that Joshua is brilliant? Um... because he talks about what he learned in school and wears his shirts buttoned all the way up to the top.

How do we know he's evil? Well, because he looks hard at things and doesn't blink.

But more importantly, WHY is he evil? In other words, why is he trying to drive his poor parents nuts? Well... the filmmakers would like us to believe that it's because he's jealous of the attention his baby sister gets.

One problem: his parents are clearly making a strong effort to shower him with attention, affection, and encouragement, so the emotional catalyst just isn't there. Nor do we have any real clue as to whether Joshua is inherently sadistic, or just acting out of desperation.

Likewise, the various "twists" aren't really twists at all, since this movie ends pretty much exactly the way you think it would--but, oddly, in a much less plausible way.

About three-fourths of the way through this stumbling, seemingly made-for-TV film, the filmmakers try to trick us by implying that someone/something else is the villain--as though the audience were just that stupid! But they take this too far, meaning the villain COULDN'T be the villain after all! In other words, the filmmakers contradict themselves.

Spoiler warning: there's no way Joshua could be at fault for everything that happened, since it's never addressed if/how he could have tampered with his mom's medication (what, does he have a secret chemistry lab somewhere that he also uses to poison animals?), nor is it addressed what he was doing to make his sister cry all the time. If he was just wandering into her room all the time and shaking her awake, wouldn't the parents eventually catch him? Why would she keep crying in the afternoons? And come to think of it, what parents keep their crying newborn in a separate room down the hall?

This movie also asks us to make some huge leaps of faith, like: 1) no one else saw Joshua push a certain character down the stairs of a crowded public place and kill her... in the middle of the afternoon! 2) that the father, upon discovering a very disturbing home movie filmed by his son, showed it to... absolutely no one! 3) that child psychologists see a child scribble a scary picture and IMMEDIATELY conclude that a child has definitely been abused (hey, I drew scary pictures, too; I just thought they were cool!), and finally, 4) that a nine-year-old boy sitting at a piano and singing a god-awful adult contemporary song is scary... well, actually, that IS pretty horrifying!

Kind of freaky. And it's a good sign when you yell at your tv -- which I did a lot. The ending was a little bit of a suprise. If it's a dull week and you're looking for something to watch, this isn't too bad.

The promotion and packaging material for this movie go to considerable effort to suggest that it is yet another clone of "The Omen" and similar films. Indeed, the title character bears more than a passing resemblance, and a few scenes are staged as neat little hommages to the "evil demonic child" school of filmmaking.

But the demon here is no supernatural creation. He evolves before your very eyes in the person of a nine year old boy, who may have the roots of a personality disorder....or may be responding to the birth of a new child in the family and to postpartum depression suffered by his mother. Whatever the reason, Joshua moves through (and ultimately, just moves) a story which stumbles a few times but more often than not leads the viewer down an unexpected path....and into a building dread which grows steadily throughout the film to a climax you're not likely to forget--on several levels, actually. Prepare to have several of your fears played upon to great effect--even if you didn't think you were particularly afraid of them. You may well find yourself saying aloud as you realize it: "but....all of this actually happens...."

No big-name cast here, but by and large the acting is quite capable (the actor who portrays Joshua is especially riveting and incredibly subtle for a child), the writing might well have inspired jealousy from Alfred Hitchcock, and the camera is almost a character in the film itself, sliding around corners and down claustrophobic corridors in such a way that you half expect it to look over its shoulder at times. The use of music at several points is extremely effective--it's worth sitting through the credits to let the story's final chill running down your spine sink in properly.

Come prepared to pay attention--and to encounter a few scenes that seem a bit uncertain. But give this movie a chance, let it draw you in. I can almost guarantee that it will not let go of you easily.

Joshua is about a young boy living in New York with his seemingly perfect
parents. He is an accomplished piano player, and rejects sports, which
is somewhat disappointing to his father. He is always perfectly groomed,
and highly intellectual. Early on, however, it is clear that there is a
sinister side to Joshua, which becomes increasingly evident following the
birth of a little sister. Side characters include the fathers parents,
who are Christian Fundamentalists, and Joshua's Uncle, (Mom's brother).
Joshua's mother is suffering from post-partum depression and has symptoms
of schizophrenia, and his dad is trying to keep things together. Slowly, bad things keep happening, which usually point to Joshua, though nobody
wants to acknowledge the possibility. Does he want to eliminate his
sister? His parents? The movie is increasingly tense and creepy, and
the climax is interesting, to say the least. The film is overall less
satisfying than the original "Bad Seed" with Patty McCormack, probably
because Joshua is not portrayed quite as charming and likable when not
in distress or under suspicion. Still, the film is well acted and keeps
you guessing and nervous. Worth seeing if you like a psychological
thriller.

This is the story of a young, upper-middle class family, living from what all outside appearances, seems to be a charmed life. Successful Father, loving Mother, gifted 9 year old son, and a beautiful newborn baby girl.
But, the parents don't seem to notice that the birth of their Daughter, has brought some dark & very sinister behaviour out in their 9 year old old Son, Joshua. Soon, unexplained events tear the family apart, driving the Mother mad, the baby's life is in danger, and the Father soon comes to realize that his gifted 9 year old son, is a phychotic little monster.
This film is not filled with gore, or in-your-face horror. I find it all the more disturbing, because everything is done in a subtle fashion, making the story very believable. The child actor that portrays Joshua, is truely amazing, he's not over-the-top, but very effective. When he starts playing the piano and singing at the end of the film, I was truely creeped out. I would reccomend this film to anyone who has enjoyed films like The Others, The Bad Seed, & The Omen.