Maggie: Blu Ray Review

Maggie: Blu Ray Review

Rating: M
Released by Sony Home Ent

Mournful and melancholy, Maggie gives us a Schwarzenegger side we've not seen for a long time

He plays Wade the dutiful dad who, realising his daughter Maggie (Abigail Breslin) is facing a terminal illness with the Turn, a virus that turns victims into zombie like creatures, decides to stick with her rather than turn her into the authorities as families of the infected are ordered to do.

But the reality is living with this, a situation made all the more cursed by his sensitive daughter's approach to it all, and the pressure around him to do the right thing.

Nothing much happens in this quiet little movie that mixes the maudlin visuals of a dystopian style The Road aesthetic with a smattering of issues of euthanasia, suicide and fatal illness. Drab and dark palettes indicate the end of times and give the film an oppressive feel.

The shocks are small in scale but high on emotional devastation as Maggie heads to its dénouement. Some impressive make up and FX do more than an ep of The Walking Dead ever can, but it's Schwarzenegger's underplaying, Abigail Breslin's sensitive handling and Joely Richardson's growing maternal horror that underpin this drama and give it a quietly devastating edge

It may be slow and lo fi but Maggie is an unexpected film that packs an emotionally resonant punch that's likely to deflate you if you're willing to give yourself over to its rhythms, its pace and its occasionally plodding plot.