Virginia Gilbert’s Reawakening follows the story of a couple whose relationship is suffocated by the grief of their missing daughter, Clare. Joy and suspicion dance around the couple’s interactions once Clare returns after 10 years. Reawakening (2024) is now available on VOD if you want to dig into a family drama. There is a layer of mystery that is intriguing, but the film lacks thrills, despite being listed as a “mystery & thriller”. Reawakening is worth the watch for the drama and performances. Do not expect an exciting script, though.
Gone girl
Missing persons are incorporated into many films across the drama, horror, or thriller subgenres. It’s a way to introduce trauma, grief, mystery, or to create a set-up for an antagonist. In this case, John and Mary’s grief is at the forefront. We spend the first act watching them try to maintain their lives and relationship as they continue the search for their daughter. It is apparent that their foundation is flimsy, but they are still holding on to hope. Jared Harris (John) and Juliet Stevenson (Mary) give captivating performances that made me want to explore who they were before their daughter disappeared.
When their daughter returned, I was hoping the plot would heat up, but it remained lukewarm. John is suspicious, while Mary wants to welcome Clare back with open arms. The couple argues about how they should handle Clare’s return. Meanwhile, the audience is kept in the dark about whether Clare is who she says she is.
Figuring out if Clare (Erin Doherty) was an imposter did not give me much excitement, because she seems harmless. Even if she isn’t Clare, she does not seem to pose a real threat, which keeps the stakes low. She simply played the role of a troubled daughter and didn’t give much pushback when John questioned her. She also didn’t seem to do anything sinister, outside of squatting in a stranger’s house. This is a situation that could have been dangerous and exciting, but the story was more focused on how John and Mary deal with grief and hope.
The thriller with no thrills
The drama was serviceable, but the thrills felt non-existent. Most of the tension lives between John and Mary’s interactions. It does so with John usually stirring the pot with his doubts and suspicions. John comes off as combative, but I would also press the issue if there was a stranger possibly pretending to be my daughter. Mary’s character seems like she was happy going back to how things were before Clare’s disappearance, even if it wasn’t authentic.
We get a small glimpse of the truth at the end of the third act. Unfortunately, it wasn’t satisfying. Implications of what may have really happened when Clare left home can be made from the dialogue and the photo shown during the last five minutes of the movie. I would have loved it if the story focused more on that. That seems like the more interesting mystery. Instead, we’re left to focus on figuring out if Clare truly came home. And that is mostly explored through John. Overall, Reawakening is a decent drama. However, the mystery is mediocre, and the thrills are not in the room.
