Lavender

This was an unsuspected surprise. I did not have much exception about this film and by the end I was surprisingly satisfied by the experience. This is a ghost story that glides on atmospheric buildup and unhurried storytelling. Unlike the current series of horror movies that rely on hyperkinetic scenes to get a jump scare out of the audience, Lavender creates a world of hallucinatory reality. I would not indulge on the story line here but I would brush on number of elements that I really enjoyed about this film 1. Soundtrack, incredible amount of work has gone into creation of this soundstripe. This is an orchestral piece which is composed of many many layers of unique instrumental arrangements. They are quite original and composition really enhances the haunting visuals. 2. Photography, as with the soundtrack, the movie is inhabited with many equally stunning shots that brings out the almost fairy air amidst the horror. 3. Abbe Cornish is clearly in command here. I would say that she carries the movie all on her own. She delivers a multi-layered character performance which is mesmerizing on every scene she is present. At the end if you like a old fashioned ghost story which has no shortage of talent in every department give Lavender a try

The story revolves around Jane (Abbie Cornish) - a young wife and mother of a young daughter who as the result of a car accident loses her memory, and as it slowly returns she finds herself being confronted by scattered memories of childhood trauma. The trauma is no surprise to the viewer. We're introduced (to a degree, but not to all the details) to what happened in the opening scenes of the movie. So that opening does serve as a bit of a hook. The movie sets you up to believe that Jane was responsible for what was shown. Which means that right from the start you know that's too simple an explanation. And having said that it's fair to say that the story is a little bit too simple. What finally comes out at the end of the movie - after an hour and a half of Jane struggling to recover her memories of that night - isn't really a surprise. If it wasn't Jane, there really only seemed to be one direction the story could move - and so it did. It's still a decent story. At times, though, it seems to try too hard to bulid some suspense and throw a bit of "shock" into a movie that really had little of either. But the background music and various scenes struggle to create suspense. At times it's mildly effective, but for the most part - well, not really. There's a bit of a supernatural element to this which has you wondering up to the last scenes. Is this actually a ghost story or is Jane just imagining some of the things that are happening? Is what seems to be supernatural really just the result of the repressed memory of the trauma finally being released? That does seem clarified at the very end. It certainly isn't a bad movie. It's engaging enough for the most part although it does at times seem to drag just a little bit. The performances in this were so-so. I didn't think anyone in the cast really stood out. But I watched it from beginning to end and wanted to see how it all was going to turn out, and was especially concerned almost from the start with what would happen to Jane's young daughter Alice (one of the earlier roles for young Lola Flanery, who's more familiar from TV series such as Mary Kills People and The 100). (6/10)

What a strange little movie we have in the under-the-radar Canadian supernatural drama "Lavender". It may be a low budget indy, but the story, acting and cinematography are all of high caliber. Australian beauty Abbie Cornish is Jane, a woman with a horrific past that she can not remember. Cornish resonates as a wife and mother struggling to recall unthinkable events from a tragic childhood. Although she plays a gal from the American Midwest, her indigenous Aussie accent does seep through on occasion. But that doesn't detract from a solid performance as the anchor of a uniformly fine cast which includes veteran pros Dermot Mulroney and Justin Long. And one other thing. Watching "Lavender" may well result in you never again looking at unexpected presents wrapped in pretty red ribbon as a welcome surprise.

This was painful. I watched the entire thing, fighting sleep throughout. Only the last 20 minutes was interesting. Up until then it's just a string of boring flashbacks. I found myself just hoping they would hurry up and get to the point. To make matters worse, the ending is quite predictable. This one is a Netflix late night special if you are very bored.

Oh. My. God. If I have ever seen a slow-paced movie, they seem like roller-coasters now. This title is only rivaled by that French joke of a horror movie called They Came Back (100 minutes of my life; gone). Nothing happened for the first half hour besides the introduction of the characters and the main character living her life in between zoning out to annoying violin (or cello?) tunes for looong seconds. Literally two seconds of Dermot Mulroney and no Justin Long. Just as I was about to turn it off, though, my food arrived so I kept watching. Nothing kept happening for another 15 minutes, but right when I was closing the window for sure this time, a single interesting thing happened that involved Justin Long's character (and I love Justin Long) so I gave it yet another chance. When there was more empty scenery and zoning out, I just skipped ahead to the revelation part, which wasn't too bad, and then it was finally over. I thanked God and ran here to try and stop others from wasting precious time.

Lavender has a fairly interesting, though not entirely unique premise. While it tries to create an eerie atmosphere and engaging story, it just kind of misses the mark. Nothing is particularly terrible about it. The story resolves neatly and there are a few effective scary moments. It's just not very memorable. I personally didn't find the acting very impressive and just felt bored at moments. The reveal at the end was unexpected, but not all that satisfying. If you're considering checking out the movie, it's worth a casual watch.

I don't understand the bad reviews and glad I watched it regardless. It was a thoroughly surprising tale with excellent acting, and a surprise twist. Where I thought it was going was not so I loved that surprise. Yes, according to others it is a ghost story BUT so much more than that! If you like suspense, twists and turns, watch this. You will not be disappointed.

Painfully slow, unoriginal and maddeningly confusing, this bore fest's worst mistake is having the vapid lead character who is stand offish and in a constant daze, played by the buxomly succulent, magnetically attractive Abbey Cornish. They certainly didn't try hard enough to make her look dumpy. Long takes of her supposed to be scary were more like a model photo shoot. Lifts elements from films including "The Others" with Nicole Kidman, but they go to waste in this mess.

I'm not a huge fan of the slow burn. No, I don't need explosions, but if a film gets any slower than 'Ex Machina' I feel as if we're stretching a short film into a feature. This film is slow, very slow, just when we think we're getting somewhere the lead "doesn't remember" or "doesn't know why..." and after two steps forward, we take a step back. However, this isn't a bad film. The reveal at the end is worth the wait and will leave you saying (in a good way) "What the hell no!". The lead is the lone survivor of her family's massacre. In order to protect her from what she knows, her brain gives her amnesia. She's somewhat trapped in a childlike state, which if you look at her that way she's less annoying. I can't say the same for her daughter, who was incredibly annoying with no redeeming quality. The husband's also a bit of a dud and very unsupportive as his wife tries to sort out some pretty tragic stuff in her mis-firing brain. Her mind plays tricks on her. She sees things that aren't there and has an imaginary psychologist in the image of her dead father. Her dead sister also shows up. There's the weak "we can't let you leave" statement given by the dead sister, which is misleading. The living daughter also sees the dead sister for no other reason than, it's spooky, I guess. There are quite a few vague things that might leave you feeling like "come on already explain this crap, movie." I don't understand all these reviewers with 'unanswered questions' who 'never figure out what's going on'. The movie does a great job explaining itself, and it's really quite simple. It's the kind of movie to throw on while your knitting, clipping coupons... or scrapbooking or doing something else to fill in the huge gaps when nothing really is going on.

What a strange little movie we have in the under-the-radar Canadian supernatural drama "Lavender". It may be a low budget indy, but the story, acting and cinematography are all of high caliber. Australian beauty Abbie Cornish is Jane, a woman with a horrific past that she can not remember. Cornish resonates as a wife and mother struggling to recall unthinkable events from a tragic childhood. Although she plays a gal from the American Midwest, her indigenous Aussie accent does seep through on occasion. But that doesn't detract from a solid performance as the anchor of a uniformly fine cast which includes veteran pros Dermot Mulroney and Justin Long. And one other thing. Watching "Lavender" may well result in you never again looking at unexpected presents wrapped in pretty red ribbon as a welcome surprise.