"Can you just let me sit with my memories?"
There’s a lot of bravery in portraying certain subjects on
screen. You have to risk not only putting your own creative vision out there,
but under certain scrutiny it needs to be seen as servicing real people who
have been affected by the very harsh reality of what your story is conveying.
In the case of ‘The Tale’ that story is an autobiographical one, so to say
there’s a level of intimacy in this highly troubling subject is an understatement.
If anything that intimacy only serves to make the movie more authentic, as well
as all the more disturbing.
Jennifer Fox lives comfortably as a documentary filmmaker
and university professor. But when her mother discovers a story titled
"The Tale" that Jennifer wrote when she was 13, detailing a special
relationship Jennifer had with two adult coaches, Jennifer returns to the
Carolina horse farm where the events transpired to try to reconcile her version
of events with the truth and come to terms with how it has impacted her life
and behaviour.
It is difficult to discuss precisely what makes ‘The Tale’
so impactful, and so relevant, without spoiling some of the film’s eventual
revelations. But if you can derive anything from the film’s premise alone I
think a viewer can gather some idea of where the narrative is heading. Also it’s
not so much in the broader strokes which the film finds its effectiveness but
in precisely how the protagonist comes to the realisation of what happened to
her. Here Jennifer Fox brings us a film that is harrowing and difficult, but is
also deeply important.
Maybe I’m subconsciously aware of this due to the
autobiographical nature of the movie, but struck me about the way in which the
story was told was the sheer intimacy of the portrait. As an audience we feel
completely in tune with what Jennifer is experiencing as she uncovers each new
memory. They don’t come in waves of revelation but slowly and surely, piece by
piece. We understand the various methods in which she lied to herself, or even
if it’s fair to say she lied but rather simply couldn’t comprehend what had
happened to her.
It’s on that front that the structure and editing of ‘The
Tale’ really stand out as exceptional. Through some sections of the film it
morphs into a pure stream of consciousness as new shreds of information come to
form a new perspective of a memory we previously thought to know. The editing
is masterful in how it manipulates the audience in such a way that their
viewpoint of Jennifer’s memories is alters just as her outlook is. The film
really captures what it feels like to truly remember something, to have
memories and see new details within them.
If anything the film is less about the trauma itself and
more concerned with how Jennifer reconciles the abuse she suffered. She lashes
out when someone suggests she might be a victim because she hates to think of
herself as weak (by her own definition of “weak”) in any sense. The film
details her thought process as a child that led her to deny the truth for so
many years. It provides a motive for why she manipulated her own life story to
be a more comfortable narrative. She alters certain details and blocks others,
from convincing herself that she was slightly older in her memory than in reality,
to how she failed to notice the fact that she was exhibiting the very symptoms
she herself had noticed in other victims she interviewed.
All of this emotional complexity is brought to the forefront
by a fantastic performance from Laura Dern. She conveys such an acute sense of
Jennifer being a woman gradually opening a well of repressed emotions. As the
film goes on Dern’s performance allows these emotions to seep through one crack
at a time. She tries to remain courteous, professional and “strong” (again by
her own definition) through this ordeal, but cracks gradually appear in her
armour. When these emotions come flooding out near the end of the movie it is
as cathartic as it is heart breaking.
A good portion of the movie is also occupied by Isabelle
Nelisse as the younger version of Jennifer. The young actress brilliantly shows
the progression of the character as she is drawn into what will become
something more horrific than many viewers can imagine. The apprehension and
curiosity she displays is highly evocative, as is her eventual withdrawal and
denial. I empathised so deeply with her motives to repress what really happened
to her due to a number of complex and conflicting emotions that she conveys
perfectly.
I spent the first half of ‘The Tale’ under the impression
that its direction was lacking a certain dynamic. But when taken as a whole I
soon realised how it was part of an inspired progression through visuals.
Jennifer’s current life is initially flat and stable, while her memories are
mostly shot using a soft focus and simplistic staging. But as the memories take
shape the depth of field increases as each repressed recollection is truly
fleshed out. Then the camera takes a handheld and more movement oriented approach
when it comes to displaying her modern life, as these emotions gradually unbalance
the stability she thought she possessed.
As I said at the start of this review, there is bravery in
telling a story of this nature. But I can’t even begin to imagine the courage
needed to tell one that is this closely related to the artist that is telling
it. There are disturbing moment throughout ‘The Tale’ as the film is
unflinching and unapologetic in its depiction of the abuse Jennifer underwent. It
validates why victims of this kind of abuse feel the need to block their
trauma, both consciously and subconsciously.
‘The Tale’ is an intimate story of repression and
revelations, told in a way that is equal parts evocative and essential.
No comments:
Post a Comment