Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7/10
Cast: Thekla Reuten, Elijah Wolf, Emun Elliott, Sam Hazeldine, Dawn Steele, Rebecca Front, Bill Paterson, Peter Mullan, Pearl Chanda, Brigitte Urhausen, Luc Feit, Martin Donaghy, Craig McDonald-Kelly, Elisabet Johannesdottir, John Scougall, Jochum ten Haaf, Matilda Gordon, Marnie Baxter, Geoffrey Newland, Rene van Asten, Kern Falconer, Julian Nest, Joseph Black.
The nature of free will has been mulled over in cinema far more times than we arguably need have seen, so much so that the idea of Schrodinger’s Cat has moved on from paradox to the investigation into the psyche of the participant involved, the analysis of their answer attempting to reveal more than they might care to admit.
Is it by design that you would look into a draw that you were told contained evil just to see the proof for yourself, or is it human will that stops you from discovering you have been fooled and the only thing in the drawer is an unopened bottle of vintage whisky? Free will is a belief, but it doesn’t take a catastrophe to shake that belief, it only takes a mind that is stronger willed, one versed in manipulation and control, to make others question their own role and if they are ready to open the box and see a dead cat stare back at them.
Marionette is the latest in a long line of films that have looked to this paradox for inspiration, that have embraced the idea of a human mind being in contact with the universe that it create events before they happen, almost willing them into existence at the cost of hundreds of lives, or even just one that the hero of the film cares deeply for.
In this vein Marionette (also titled Repression in some areas), is no The Medusa Touch, but it is quite a thrilling film none the less, one that doesn’t leave you guessing in how the film will progress or the way it conclude, but in its action and the unbridled joy it seems to embrace at the showing of how manipulation, especially when employed by the young, is shockingly easy to witness happen, and yet so difficult to warn others of.
Free will, or pre-destined, asking just who exactly the puppet on the string is, and perhaps not liking thee answer, another paradox to avoid in real life, asking a friend to tell you exactly what they think, and then distancing yourself from that person completely afterwards; this is how the marionette works, how the strings are pulled and open to suggestion, and with some dedication, that is exactly how the film progresses.
With an exceedingly good performance in the lead role of Dr. Marianne Winter, Thelka Reuten grabs the conundrum by the collar, her slow deterioration into madness is chilling, and with great support from Elijah Wolf as the child, Sam Hazeldine as her husband, Peter Mullan as Dr. McVittie and Rebecca Front as Maureen, Marionette more than holds its own in its cinematic search for a truth we know we must witness, but to which we often close our eyes too for fear of what we will discover.
Ian D. HallÂ