Raging Grace (2023)
Time: 1h 35mins
Director: Paris Zarcilla
Quick Summary: An undocumented Filipina immigrant lands a job as a care-worker for a terminal old man, securing a better life for her and her daughter.
Who labelled this as a horror?
So this wasn't bad, I did really enjoy this, it's just I'm not sure this should be labelled as a horror though. I don't personally think there was anything that happened in this that even remotely brings in a single element of horror, there are incredibly tense moments that got a gasp, but nothing spooked me. Really this should have been labeled as a Thriller.
This is interesting and enjoyable to watch, but I realise it's actually kind of dull if you're someone who expects lots of things to happen throughout a film. It's slow, but it's solid in its own story. The set-up is done purposely so that you know barely anything and shows you a very heavy exploration of this woman's present life. Ranging from the struggles of finding housing for her and her daughter to facing racism and misogynistic abuse for the work she does and the natural indignation of being a single mother, as well as dealing with a child who doesn't really understand the situation.
There were a couple of plot twists, a couple which I found to be pretty predictable, but honestly, I didn't mind too much because who doesn't love a cliche every now and again. However, these threw me off one of the bigger plot twists, which really surprised me and really upped how tense the whole situation was.
Aside from the mother and the Child, I found everyone else to be dull and not fleshed out very well. Almost like they had an idea and only went to the surface level of it. So when it came to the "Villians", eh. They could have done a bit better with going into the background of everything. The mother I couldn't help but feel sorry for every single moment of this. I really pitied her and I think that goes to how well the actress did during this as I forgot I was watching a film and not just some documentary.
I felt like a lot of things went unexplained too and just glossed over which really could have helped bring a much-needed depth to this. It was sad to see what immigrants have to go through and how they are treated and I did like how much this film brought it to the harsh light without over-dramatising it or glamourising it. It was real racism, subtle and hard to fight against for these people stuck in an unfortunate situation.
What I did really like from this was actually the camera shots as they were set up in such a pleasing symmetrical way, full of really rich and deep colours, but also set up for some really clever jumpscares which got me every single time funnily enough. Another thing is how flawlessly the languages would flick between each other, sometimes it would be English and sometimes it would be Tagalog ( A branch of Filipino)
I liked this, I really did, it's just a shame it's nothing special. It's a good watch, but I don't think I'll be rushing to rewatch this. I'll admit too, for a first-time director, this is very good.
7/10
"Not sir, Master"
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