PLOT: Amanda and her daughter stay a quiet life on an American farm, however when the stays of her mom arrive from Korea, Amanda turns into haunted by the concern of turning into her personal mom.
REVIEW: Umma could be finest described as a squandered alternative. There may be a good suggestion in author/director Iris Okay. Shim’s function movie debut but it surely doesn’t fairly come collectively. The movie doesn’t actually work as a horror film nor as a psychological drama. Shim makes an attempt to navigate each avenues however finish end result could be very flat. It’s a disgrace as a result of Shim is aided by a prime notch exhibiting from Sandra Oh however even her finest efforts can’t save this misfire.
Amanda (Sandra Oh) works as a beekeeper whereas residing off-the-grid together with her daughter, Chris (Fivel Stewart). Sooner or later, Amanda’s uncle (Tom Yi) arrives with the stays of her umma (mom, in Korean) whom she had been estranged from for years. One thing occurred between Amanda and her mom years in the past that led to that estrangement and to Amanda’s aversion to electrical energy. Quickly she instantly begins seeing apparitions of her mom as she steadily confronts her previous trauma.
The irritating factor about Umma is that there’s a darker and profound film lurking beneath the floor. Shim presents plenty of themes that might be attractive to discover however by no means follows by way of with them. The connection between Amanda isn’t explored sufficient to justify the “horror” that comes from her mom’s stays being delivered to her. It additionally doesn’t assist that the important thing exposition about what traumatic occasion occurred between the 2 is withheld till the tip. The movie merely treads water as Amanda’s mom haunts her time and again with no actual justification for the viewers. Ultimately, the haunting turns into repetitive and the expertise lacks actual thrills or chills to maintain you invested.
The connection between Amanda and her personal daughter can be squandered. There may’ve been an excellent alternative to discover parallels between their relationship and Amanda’s relationship together with her personal mother however they by no means come to fruition. Sandra Oh and Fivel Stewart do overcome the problems of the screenplay to forge admirable performances however you possibly can inform they’re working with a narrative that’s severely undercooked. It’s a credit score to them that do make one thing out of nothing a lot in any respect.
Even at a slim 83 minutes, the movie additionally options subplots that don’t quantity to a lot of something. One entails a blossoming friendship between Chris and River (Odeya Rush), the daughter of Amanda’s pleasant neighbor, Danny (Dermot Mulroney). The scenes are principally contrived they usually don’t do a lot to maneuver the narrative ahead. Extra time might be spent on the mom/daugher relationship and it makes these scenes really feel like filler. It’s virtually as if Shim doesn’t notice what probably the most attention-grabbing a part of the story is.
The movie’s third act does choose issues up a bit but it surely additionally feels too rushed as Shim appears too afraid to essentially dig deep into Amanda’s emotional ache. Sandra Oh virtually makes us consider in Amanda’s character arc because of her efficiency however, ultimately, it’s a little bit laborious to consider. The movie may’ve been grounded in additional emotional depth if we acquired the sense that Amanda was actually going by way of an emotional journey.
Stylistically, the movie is on level and Shim does toy with some spectacular pictures that does threaten to make issues a bit extra attention-grabbing than they’re. There’s a visually putting scene of bees swarming a window and whereas it does present an attention-grabbing metaphor, Shim doesn’t do a lot with it. The movie’s rating can be intrusive because it dictates to the viewers when they need to be spooked out. It actually reveals that Shim doesn’t belief that the movie is really scary.
The very best that may be stated about Umma is that it doesn’t overstay its welcome. It’s brief and to the purpose however the disappointing factor is that there are seeds for an excellent story right here. Regardless of Sandra Oh doing her finest to breathe life right into a thankless position, Umma finally ends up being a chore to sit down by way of. It’s a innocent endeavor but it surely’s additionally very shallow and dul.
4
