A tight and tense psychological thriller written and Virginia Gilbert, Reawakening deals with what we know, what we think we know, and what we might wish for.
Jared Harris and Juliet Stevenson play a couple whose daughter, Clare, ran away from home at the age of 14 ten years ago, and they have never lost hope that she will return.
When, one day, ‘Clare’ (Erin Doherty) turns up on the doorstep, her mother accepts her with open arms, yet her father has doubts and starts questioning her in an attempt to trip her up.
By the ending we know what has really happened, and accept for all of them that there is a resolution that makes sense. Harris and Stevenson are both excellent, while Doherty is the right kind of understated for a part where we don’t quite know who she is.
This is a quiet film about grief, about letting go, and about the closeness of family. It isn’t perfect and ventures into stereotypes about problem teenagers and underprivileged families, but it has heart and soul that can eventually win you over.
Harris is very effective as the tenacious father who wants to believe while also wanting to be sure. In his portrayal we see insights into his relationship with both wife and daughter.
Real-life is rarely pretty, and never simple. Reawakening grips the viewer because it understands how frail relationships can be, and focuses on our need to replay and rewrite the scenes we have lived.
For this couple, their class, money and connections make their ability to deal with loss seems easy on the outside, yet the turmoil twists inside. As Stevenson (re)connects with Doherty, Harris needs the reassurance, the gaps to be filled, the door to be fully opened.
Reawakening is available as a subscription exclusive on BFI Player and is available on demand from Level 33 Entertainment from 18 Nov.