The mystery genre is one that has always been popular, and there's good reason why the biggest selling author of all time is a mystery writer. People love to try to figure things out, it's why shows like Law & Order or CSI can go on for decades and have a half dozen spin-offs that do the same. Watching a story unfold, seeing the clues, putting your own theory together, and seeing if you were right or not as things come to a satisfactory conclusion can be tons of fun; but when a film seems unable to properly structure a mystery, and delivers a flat and frankly ridiculous ending it can leave you feeling very disappointed. Sadly, Blackwater Lane, an adaptation of the BA Harris novel The Breakdown, fails to deliver a movie that's going to be memorable for the right reasons.
Blackwater Lane tells the story of Cass (Minka Kelley), an American actress turned drama teacher who's moved into an old mansion in the UK with her husband Matthew (Dermot Mulroney). One night, after going out for drinks with some other teachers to celebrate the break up of term, Cass is driving home along the dark forest road Blackwater Lane, which her husband advised her against. As the rain comes down heavily outside Cass sees a car by the side of the road and slows to a stop. She sees a woman sitting inside, but rather than seeing if she needs any help simply carries on and leaves her there. The next morning, however, Cass learns that the woman, who she knew, was murdered.
A Cass grapples with the guilt of having not done anything to help the woman, she becomes convinced that something strange is happening around her home. She's seeing a figure on the grounds, is receiving strange phone calls, and is sure that someone keeps getting inside the house. Matthew dismisses her concerns, believing that her history of mental health issues might be to blame. As more unfolds Cass is told that she may be suffering from early on-set dementia, as her mother did, and starts to lose her grasp on what she can and can't believe. Now Cass must figure out if her home is haunted, if she's being followed by a killer, or if her own mind might be to blame.
Blackwater Lane looks like a good film. It's well shot, has a gorgeous setting, and has familiar actors in the main roles. I saw the trailer and thought that the film looked suitably impressive enough to give it a try. The mixture of murder mystery and supernatural elements was something that appealed to me too. However, it became clear fairly early on into the film that the things that had impressed me in the trailer was a bit of sleight of hand, as the film itself felt disjointed, overly long, and kind of boring for the most part. The plot should be interesting, but thanks to how little time is spent on the murder mystery and how much is given over to scenes that are trying to convince us that Cass is losing her mind, it instead left me watching the clock to see how much time was left instead of being drawn into the narrative.
Some of this is down to the dialogue. The cast do a decent job with what they're given, and I can't pick too much faults with performances for much of the film (the end is a different matter). However, the script is very janky at times, and it comes across more like the things being said are being said to explain things to the audience rather than because the characters would say them. A lot of the dialogue is expository or explanatory, and the characters end up being devices to move the plot forward than players in this narrative. And thanks to this, the plot becomes very predictable, and it's not hard to see where things are going; at least until a very weird final act twist.
If you don't want to know how the film ends skip ahead, otherwise here's my main criticism of the movie beyond simply being dull. In the final act Cass learns that her husband is having an affair with her best friend, Rachel (Maggie Grace), and that the two of them killed the woman on Blackwater Lane to cover up that affair. Oh, and they've been gaslighting her the whole time to make her think she's crazy as well as trying to frame her for the killing. When Cass has the evidence of this she does what any sensible person would do, and she goes to the police. However, instead of them simply arresting Matthew and Rachel they allow Cass to enact a plan where she fakes her own death (on camera to Matthew and Rachel), has a student of her find her body, has the police report her dead, and then will pretend to be a ghost when Matthew and Rachel come to collect evidence of their misdeeds. The police watch all of this unfold, including watching Cass and another friend be assaulted and tied up by
Matthew and Rachel, who have weapons on them, and only step in when Rachel accidentally fatally stabs Matthew.
If this sounds utterly ridiculous and unbelievable it's because it is. I was waiting for the film to reveal that this entire ending was a fake out of some kind, that I wasn't actually seeing what I was seeing, but no, the police allow civilians to be put in danger and risk of murder, including an actual child, to allow a woman who's been mentally abused the chance to fuck around for a bit and get some revenge. And then, when things are still unclear, we get a final scene of Cass explaining how it was all a years long elaborate conspiracy to get her house and money to the husband of the woman who was murdered; who just gives her a little nod and smile at the end because why would he have a real human reaction? It almost feels like the filmmakers knew that the majority of the film was kind of dull and predictable, so decided to inject some weird excitement into the final act but didn't stop to consider if any of it made a lick of sense.
Blackwater Lane is not a great movie, and I'd struggle to even say it's a good one. It has some good elements, it's competently shot, it looks good, the setting is beautiful, but that's not enough to keep a film afloat; especially for almost two hours. I've not read the original book the film is based on, so I don't know if this is an issue that has arisen from the adaptation, or if things were this bad in the original text, but as it is, I can't really recommend Blackwater Lane.
Blackwater Lane is available now on UK streaming services.
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