The mere fact that Guillermo del Toro and Academy Award nominee Jessica Chastain are involved in the Andy Muschietti directed Mama gives me enough reason to check it out. How do I feel after viewing the physiological thriller? Underwhelmed just doesn't seem to say it well enough.
Though decently crafted and beautifully shot, Muschietti's film is creatively hindered by its teen-friendly PG-13 rating. Unable to go the extra step and often times reverting to music and prop placement, Mama is unable to reach its full potential and ultimately comes to an anti-climatic conclusion and creates more questions than answers.
The film opens with a dark and horrid incident that sees a father take his two daughters after killing their mother. Slick ice leads to a vehicle accident that eventually has the trio in an abandoned cabin...or is it?
For what it's worth, the acting from both of our leads is impressive as they bring a sense of family to the story. Chastain's Annabel is going through a drastic life change, and while her transformation is never the focus of the story, her struggles to cope with and understand her new "daughters" is. It is her relationship with them that eventually takes center stage, prompting the major conflict with the story and eventually pushing it towards it final act.
As the story does reach its peak and things begin to come into full focus, I wasn't necessarily frustrated by the storyline, but I was with the way it played out. The climax was short lived, the resolution a bit too easy, and the final act questionable when taken in by any amount of common sense.
Fortunately for Mama, its target audience won't question the final scene or the effect it would have on everyone involved. The pieces to the puzzle fit together (some must better than others) and at the end of the day the film appeals to those it was made for--mindless teens who want nothing more than a little scare.
