[REVIEW] SXSW: Raging Grace
Premiering in this year’s SXSW Film Festival, Raging Grace packs a lofty punch with its social commentary sandwiched in between a relationship between mother and daughter, and the relationship between mother and her employers and her standing in society. A thriller that slowly creeps into the realm of horror quite seamlessly. Raging Grace gives a look into the world of immigration and the true horror of having to face deportation from trying to find honest work to care for yourself and your family. While the work may be honest, it is a thankless job, as showcased by the characters Nigel Garrett and his niece, Katherine.
We follow Joy (Max Eigenmann), an immigrant mother with no citizenship, working as a caretaker in homes that her employers seem to be away from as she and her child stay in the house, Joy being incredibly careful that they’re not caught. This is their means of survival while in Britain, but soon Joy is offered a better-paying gig by an upper-crust Katherine (Leanne Best) who needs help with looking after her uncle. It’s nearly too good to be true, but Joy can’t pass up the opportunity as it means more money to care for her child and a roof over their heads. Once inside the home and caring for a seemingly ill Mr. Nigel Garrett, Joy feels they can be safe there, but soon realize that is not to be the case.
Mr. Nigel almost immediately takes to Grace (Jaeden Paige Boadilla), Joy’s rambunctious daughter who is fierce and strong, and Joy doesn’t see the issue until Garrett insists on Grace calling him ‘lolo’ (Grandpa in Tagalog) but for Joy to call him ‘master’. This is when the shift is instantaneously felt by Joy. This insistence is not only creepy but reeks of predatory motives from Mr. Nigel, growing ever closer to Grace, who enjoys this newfound friendship. When Mr. Nigel asks Joy about Grace’s father, she confides in him the truth about Grace’s father, which he then unexpectedly uses against Joy–and slyly against Grace, as children are innocent and cannot understand the machinations of villainous people such as Mr. Nigel. His true self is peaking through the facade he created and Joy sees it fully.
Katherine comes back from whatever trip she was on, greeted by an empty entrance and what we assume is an empty home altogether, but we see that Garrett may have gotten to Grace, seeing her meddle in Katherine’s toiletries of facial cream and shampoo. What ensues thereafter is what we can only call a sinister twist revealing a greedy, horrendous family with Joy and Grace being casualties of the in-fighting between an uncle who is anything but kind and a niece ready to do whatever it takes to be rid of him. The story takes a terrifying turn, and we bear witness to a terror that Joy tries to keep Grace from experiencing, but Garrett won’t allow shelter from his devilish plans for Joy and Grace. Little does Garrett know, Grace has plans of her own, and she’s much stronger than he thinks.
Raging Grace, written and directed by British-born Filipino Paris Zarcilla, presents a harsh look into the world of immigrants fighting to make a way out of no way to ensure a better life for their loved ones, only to be exploited and abused in the vilest of ways. The characters of both Garrett and Katherine show both faces of the kinds of treatment immigrants are subject to, the stereotypes they become victims of at the hands of over-privileged folks who genuinely believe they’re doing immigrants a great favor by employing them to positions that keep them on the level of the totem pole they feel they belong. They feel that they’re helping them, but as Joy rightly told Katherine after her self-righteous statement, “We don’t need your help. You need ours.”
Zarcilla perfectly captured the horrors of immigrants’ struggles in this film, with a blend of a hellish dreamscape and reality towards the end of the film, both antagonists getting their just comeuppance. Seen as an extremely personal film and a “comping of rage story” by Zarcilla showcased at SXSW Film Festival, it will both frighten and make you appreciate the film for being a magnifying glass into the selfless world of caretaking, and now have a better understanding of it.
Raging Grace, is still showing at SXSW Film Festival with many top honors to its credit.
