The Mosley Review: Nocturne
Stories about child prodigies are interesting and sometimes rough to watch. They either go the route of showing the children that studied all their lives in a more encouraging environment or you see them struggle through forceful and abusive training when they’re young and how that effects them at later. You get to see the former in this film, but with a bit of a twist. The film focuses on the anxieties of wanting to out do another and wanting to have with all the missed recognition. I loved that it was a sibling rivalry between to very talented twin sisters and I felt the tension building throughout their story. The film does have a mild supernatural vibe sprinkled with some haunting imagery which was cool. There were times were it felt like a fun mystery and I liked how it all connected by the end. The film was definitely a commentary on the psychological strains of being a perfectionist and devoting your life to something while missing out on life.
Sydney Sweeney was excellent as Juliet. I loved how she was able to play the quiet and socially awkward aspect without being too overly done. She shows much restraint where most would've gone too far. I loved what she did with her voice throughout the film as it subtly goes from timid to strong as she finds her confidence. Her reactions to the things happening to her were sometimes haunting. Madison Iseman plays her twin sister Vivian and I thought she was equally excellent as the more outgoing and equally talented sibling. She’s as talented as her sister, but Juliet was the superior. Their rivalry was sometimes nerve-racking as each decision Vivian would make, Juliet would see that as an affront to her. There are so many deep seeded issues between them and it was rough to watch at times. Julie Benz and Brandon Keener were great as their lofty and unassuming parents Cassie and David. Ivan Shaw was excellent and demanding as Dr. Henry Cask. He had elegance and a powerful presence in each scene.
The score by Gazelle Twin was trippy, jarring and sometimes hypnotic. There are many themes of confidence, relevance, typical teen drama and psychological trauma and I loved seeing all of that explored in one film, but there were moments where it was confusing. On the one hand you have a sibling rivalry story and on the other you have a quasi psychological/supernatural horror story. The two mixed, but not as well as the film was hoping for. Overall, I thought this was a good drama about rivalries and fighting for relevancy. Its the second of the Blumhouse Productions films and it is currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video. Let me know in the comments if you agree with my review or have your own thoughts you would like to share about the film. Thanks for reading!
