ALOFT

– Film Review by Cate Marquis –

Jennifer Connelly and Cillian Murphy star as an estranged mother and son in the remote sub-arctic north, who are brought together again by a journalist played by Melanie Laurent, in the sincere but rambling independent drama “Aloft.” The film’s title refers to the son’s pursuit of falconry, an interest that dates to his childhood and an event that contributed to their estrangement.

While “Aloft” has some moving and taut dramatic scenes, and excellent performances by its gifted cast. The problem with the film is its rambling, unfocused story,which is strong on feeling and atmosphere but less sharp on the point of the film.

“Aloft” has a number of intriguing scenes in striking, strange locations, such as a crowd of desperate people lined up to see a faith-healer in a distant, far-north location. Connelly plays one of the supplicants, a single mother whose younger son has been diagnosed with a fatal disease. Murphy plays the adult version of her older son, in the second half of this tale, but Connelly plays both the young and older mother. As a child, the older son feels overlooked as his mother focuses on his sick brother and the older boy takes refuge in his falconry, a skill his grandfather taught him.

Director Claudia Llosa makes the most of the stark landscape and the edgy, self-reliant subarctic subculture for this exploration of a broken family in either Alaska or Canada. But the story itself never really jells beyond the son’s resentment over a tragic accident that ultimately broke the family. After the accident, the mother transforms herself into a renowned combination artist and healer, creating sculptures in remote locations to which admirers and the sick make pilgrimages. The details of this profession are never made clear.

The acting is excellent and Connelly, Murphy and Laurent create intriguing characters and engage in a variety of raw, emotional scenes. Unfortunately, it feels like all that effort is wasted as the film never seems to get beyond the basic premise of the resentment of the son towards his mother. The result is all style, and little substance.

While the film is filled with an electric atmosphere in a striking, stark setting, “Aloft” never really seems to go anywhere, hovering in an emotionally-taut but vague place. Llosa shows skills with her actors and in setting tone. Maybe next time she will also have more of a story to tell.

“Aloft” opened Friday, July 17, at the Tivoli Theater.

© Cate Marquis