Case 39 Review
By Lora Grady
Cold "Case"
"Case 39" is nothing to get excited about - and that's not good news for a horror movie. Starring Renee Zellweger and Bradley Cooper, the film was shot in 2006 and languished for several years before being released in time for the 2010 Halloween movie season. It's a competent piece of work - mostly - but there are plenty of other films that should be higher up on any horror aficionado's "must see" list this year.
"Case 39" revolves around one of the genre's well-worn tropes: the "evil child". Renee Zellweger plays Emily, a child services worker who is handed the case of a young girl, Lilith (Jodelle Ferland, "Silent Hill"), who is reportedly suffering abuse at the hands of her parents. Poor Lilith, or Lily, seems fragile and innocent, while her parents appear alternately aggressive, overstressed, or unhinged. After Emily witnesses a particularly heinous attack on Lily, she has the parents arrested and petitions for temporary custody of the child. And then the troubles really begin.
As is usually the case in such stories, Lily appears to be a model child, but behind the scenes she manipulates others into acts of violence, or simply drives them insane. It takes several such attacks - on her parents (Kerry O'Malley, Callum Keith Rennie), on another foster child, and on Emily's friend and fellow social worker, Doug (Bradley Cooper) - for Emily to put the pieces together and realize that Lily's sweet face is a mask hiding something sinister. From that point on, it's simply a matter of whether Emily can marshal her courage and do battle with the creature that has taken over her life.
There are several problems with "Case 39", beginning with a script that overworks some angles and leaves other, more promising ideas sadly half-baked. There was ample opportunity here to fine-tune certain subtexts, such as the tensions that can build up in families, or patterns of abuse that repeat themselves. Instead, the film goes for cheap auditory jolts (ringing alarm clock, barking dog) to stir up tension, and gross-out set pieces (a snapped neck, a fork through the eye) that feel as though they were dropped in to meet some kind of perceived genre requirement. The indifferent pacing and over-long running time combine to shuffle things forward at a desultory pace - again, not so good for a horror movie. The performances range from surprisingly effective (Callum Keith Rennie finds depth in the small role of the father pushed past his breaking point) to vaguely disconnected (Ms. Zellweger shows little of the charm or verve that she brought to "Jerry Maguire" and "
Nurse Betty"). And, while Jodelle Ferland's appearance, with her pale skin and huge, dark eyes, lends credence to her role, she struggles to fully master the shifts in tone from innocence to menace that might have brought a genuine chill to the story.
Director Christian Alvart's previous credits include last year's vastly superior sci-fi thriller, "
Pandorum", where he proved that he has ample talent for managing cross-cut narratives and encouraging strong performances from his actors. Writer Ray Wright penned the script for this year's surprisingly entertaining remake of "
The Crazies". Together they should have hit this one out of the park. Unfortunately, "Case 39" is a tepid outing at best. It's probably wise to file this one under the heading of "ultimately unsatisfying", and move on.
