When Arnold Schwarzenegger returned to acting in 2010
full-time after a long hiatus, he picked up right where he had left off; making
crappy movies. During his time away from Hollywood, the zombie-genre became
mainstream; inspiring straight-up horror films, comedies, and love stories…just
about to the point of overexposure. Here in 2015, the Austrian Oak sheds his
usual machine-gun wielding, wise-cracking routine…and spends time in a zombie
movie which strives to break away from the normal brain-eaters.
In a post-apocalyptic world where a deadly epidemic is
turning people into deadly zombies, Wade (Schwarzenegger) rescues his daughter
Maggie (Abigail Breslin) from a clinic after she has been bitten and infected
by a pack of zombies…and brings her home to wait out her inevitable transformation.
It doesn’t take long to realize that MAGGIE is a departure
from the stock zombie flick, and is certainly not the usual Schwarzenegger
vehicle. There is nothing more powerful than bringing home a sick child knowing
that she is going to die soon, only this time the death/transformation would
mean danger to the rest of the family. As Maggie begins her slow turn, Wade is
faced with three choices; to turn her over to a concentration camp/quarantine
facility where she would inhumanly spend the rest of her days, or to slip her a
drug where she would pass away quietly, or to end her life quickly via gunshot.
It’s a choice that no parent should ever have to make, and this is the heart
and soul of MAGGIE which separates it from the usual zombie-flick.
While the film tries really hard to be different, director
Henry Hobson has a lot going on which does not mesh well. MAGGIE starts out as
a horror film, then it turns into a family drama, and then a teen drama, and
then back to family and back to horror. There are many different genres going
on at once that never quite mesh into one, and it often feels disjointed. There
also seems to be some lapses in the film’s own logic; the world is dying and
things are bleak, and yet teenagers are still able to hang out and party as if
it was 1999.
There is still a lot to admire in MAGGIE. Hobson shoots the
film with an intimate touch that brings out the human heart, and with the
natural mood-lighting and haunting score, the film has a trance-like quality to
it. The drama between family members is where the film is at its best, and the
choices the they are forced to make are heartwrenching. There is an arthouse
quality to MAGGIE, as it is slowly paced, beautifully shot, and never once
mentions the term “zombie”. Maggie’s transformation is fascinating and horrific thing to see as she
goes from spooky, glossed-over eyes to decaying flesh to labored breathing…to
an appetite for meat which doesn’t involve bacon.
Arnold Schwarzenegger turns in the most mature acting job he’s
ever done. Playing the role of a father facing incredibly difficult choices, it’s
a role that he could not have done during his younger days as it certainly
requires an element of age. With his grey beard and leaner physique, he looks
older and wiser than ever, and his acting matches it. Abigail Breslin shows
great chemistry with Schwarzenegger, and it’s never a stretch to buy the two as
father and daughter. Joely Richardson struggles with her southern accent, but
turns in a good role as Maggie’s step-mom.
The finale is a bit predictable, but makes sense considering
the place the characters were in…and while the world MAGGIE takes place in has
little to no hope, it still leaves us with a good feeling. Slightly flawed but
smart enough to stay interesting, MAGGIE gets more than enough right to earn a
viewing.
BOTTOM LINE: See it
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