With strong central performances and direction, The Rule of Jenny Pen terrifies and inspires in equal measure.
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In previous reviews and pieces, I've discussed the "cinematic identity" of various nations. For instance, Great Britain is known for period dramas, a blend of comedies that drift from comedies of manners to pure slapstick, and more detective stories than you can shake a stick at. Japanese cinema is known for over-the-top cinematic violence that may or may not feature monsters, dramas involving Samurai and horror movies full of creeping dread. But what about New Zealand? Thus far the nation is most famous for the talent that's been exported to the American movie business including directors like Peter Jackson and Taika Waititi, actors like Karl Urban and Jemaine Clement and a number of offbeat comedies. But horror? Not so much. Hence why this Shudder exclusive from the New Zealand featuring two named actors caught my eye.
The Setup
Geoffrey Rush plays Stefan Mortensen, a former judge who's now living in an assisted living facility after a devastating stroke. While adjusting to a lack of autonomy is bad enough, Mortensen quickly discovers that one of the residents, Dave Crealy (John Lithgow) has been abusing his fellow residents. To stop him, Mortensen will have to do something he never wanted to do, make friends.
I have a couple things I want to discuss and warn folks about before I dive into the meat of this movie. The first is one of the film's stars John Lithgow. For those that don't know Lithgow is in the midst of some controversy since he was recently cast in a new Harry Potter series for HBO. The main reason being that this is something that will continue to enrich and promote J.K. Rowling who long past the active online bigot and has been funding anti-trans, anti-queer and anti-women's rights movements for the last half decade (if not longer), often with a sickening level of dehumanizing language and celebratory cruelty.
This was especially disappointing for fans of Lithgow who famously played a trans character in The World According to Garp in the eighties and doubly so after Lithgow's comments on the matter indicated a lack of knowledge about Rowling's personal views and advocacy. And that f***ing sucks.
I've always enjoyed Lithgow's work, but even amongst older actors (i.e. Robert DeNiro just provided a booming endorsement of his trans daughter) this is pretty obtuse. Part of being a modern actor is being informed about the people and material you're going to work with, which to me, means Harry Potter is off limits. Even if the series isn't a co-sign of her beliefs, it's clearly not a deal breaker. Rowling is more active as a bigot than a creator at this point, which is why the former stars of the films have gone out of their way to comdemn her actions.
So if you can't bring yourself to watch Lithgow's work anymore, that makes sense to me.
The other reason I'll warn folks about this movie is because it's main source of disturbance and horror is: elder abuse. Obviously elder abuse is horrible and the film makes it very clear that elder abuse is psychopathic behavior, but if that's too upsetting for you, I completely understand.
With that out of the way, let's get into the actual movie.
First of, I love the setting for this movie. Assisted living facilities and nursing homes are mostly portrayed as awful hellholes so it makes sense to turn that experience into a horror movie. It also means you get to highlight the difficulties of living in one of these facilities and portray old folks as complete people who have varying needs. So if someone starts mistreating the people here, it raises real questions about whether or not they will be believed or what their means of fighting back are.
This is perfectly demonstrated by our lead Stefan, played by Geoffrey Rush. Now Stefan is a bit of a prick. His frustrations are justified. But he comes into this situation viewing himself as better than everyone else. He's going to get better and get out. Far away from these "forgotten" people. And it is difficult to go from complete autonomy to not being able to handle a bathtub by yourself. So part of the horror, once he discovers what Crealy is up to, isn't just that he and the other folks are being abused at will by Crealy, but that his means of fighting back are so limited...and may only get worse as his health worsens.
John Lithgow's performance as Crealy is a truly sinister piece of work and I mean that as a compliment. The undercurrent of what makes elder abuse so awful is similar to what makes abusing children or pets so horrible. They need help. They trust or have to give trust easy to survive or get through their day. And it's very difficult for them to fight back and resist bad treatment. So violating that implicit trust or using someone's failing body and mind against them is rancid. And Crealy revels in it. He teases. He strikes weak spots. He makes his victims appear untrustworthy. Because despite being the same age as everyone else, he can operate with full autonomy.
He has a full grasp of what he can and can't get away with and behaves accordingly. And the look of perverse satisfaction from Lithgow as he does horrific things really hammers this home.
Director James Ashcroft also makes great use of lighting and quick editing to amplify each creepy moment with Crealy. For instance, when Stefan confronts Crealy for what I can only describe as an insult off, Crealy quickly deduces that he can't shake Stefan that way and says something to the effect of "oh dear what a pain in your shin" quick cut to under the table where we barely see Crealy kick Stefan's shin. Quick edit back up to the reaction from Stefan to highlight the only thing everyone in the room actually can see and process.
I also think it's very smart to make Crealy's actions unpredictable. Because while he has rituals and routines that he leans on, one day he just might decide to lead someone to their death. It makes eliminating the threat feel more pressing.
Finally, I love that the movie has a strong theme about finding meaning. It's a strong decision to make Stefan both very prickly but also have him be a man without any family. Partially because it means Stefan's outlets are limited. If the staff or his social worker don't believe him, he has little to no further recourse. So if he's going to get anything accomplished he either has to play ball or soften his personality and make a friend.
But another undercurrent in the film is how to do you find meaning in this kind of situation. When you're physically limited and don't have family. Crealy's nihilism and abuse argues for "do whatever because it's all meaningless," while Stefan as a former judge both has a strong sense of justice, but also realizes that folks like his roommate, can provide comfort, companionship and maybe even an ally in the fight against Crealy. It's a great demonstration of how the person next to you, suffering the same way you are, can easily become a friend...if you give them a chance.
The Verdict: Creepy and Oddly Hopeful
With strong central performances and direction, The Rule of Jenny Pen terrifies and inspires in equal measure. 7/10
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