We Have Always Lived in the Castle

Normally, I write my reviews right after seeing a movie. This one, I had to sleep on. I wasn't sure if I could say I liked this movie, and I still don't really know. I'm not sure it's a movie that CAN be liked. It's way too weird for that. But I know I like the elements of it, so I'll speak to those. First, the acting from the four core people is absolutely rock solid all the way around. Taissa Farmiga should be a household name; everything I've seen her in, she acts like someone who's been doing it 50 years. Here, she plays the younger of two emotionally broken sisters. Alexandra Daddario is often more appreciated for her beauty and her assets, and I think that's a crime; like Taissa, she has serious chops, and she shows them here, playing the older sister. Sebastian Stan is marvelous as the mysterious and creepy cousin who drops in, and Crispin Glover brings that unique energy and style that only he can bring to his role as an ailing uncle under the care of the sisters. The direction is lovely, using the space and the scenery to help accentuate moods and situations. The sisters are pariahs in their town, as everybody thinks the older sister (Constance) murdered their parents. They're also rich, which makes everybody upset for some unknown reason (I'll come back to this). Merricat (the younger sister) goes into town once a week to buy groceries, and the walk is lonely in a few ways; when she's in the woods, it's literal. When she's in town enduring the stares and jeers of the townsfolk, it's figurative. The way the scenes are directed, you can feel the town almost closing down around Merricat. Likewise, when the cousin shows up to "help" (six years later, way to be there, bro), it drives a wedge between the sisters, and suddenly, the house begins to feel like it's closing in on Merricat too. The score is equally good, at times whimsical, eerie, foreboding, and sad, accentuating the mood perfectly. And the dialogue is ... how to put this ... it's fun to hear? Not in a comedic way, but ... though it takes place in 1960, the dialogue has a weird old-world quality to it, like when Crispin Glover's Julius calls Sebastian Stan's Charles a bastard, apologizes for such language in front of his nieces, and then says "that is word gentlemen use to describe an unseemly fellow!". Or Constance describing rhubarb pie as "colorful". The story is a weird one: as I said, the older sister is believed to have poisoned their parents, and by accident, her uncle as well. The town despises them. Constance is agoraphobic and shields herself with a forced optimism and naivete that borders on delusion. Merricat thinks she is a witch and never smiles. Into their lives comes Charles, who wants to help, but also seems to want to get at their dad's papers and into their safe, and also seems to be romancing Constance, which, eww. And Merricat hates him, because the sisters are entirely co-dependent on each other, and Constance isn't giving Merricat her full attention. It's not much of a plot per se. The weird-ass characters and their relationships really drive the movie, because the story is kinda thin on the ground. Why is Constance afraid to go so much as to the edge of her lawn? Why is Merricat subservient to Constance when she's 18? What is the book Julius is writing? Why does it take Charles 6 years to "help", and is he really trying to seduce his cousin? Why is the town so resentful of the Blackwood family? The movie raises a lot of questions, and most of them don't get answered; not in a draw-your-own-conclusion way, but in a "we're maintaining an air of mystery and surreality" way. It does make the movie rather stand-offish. It's a movie that will keep your attention because of the acting and the beauty of the direction and the quirky nature of everything. But taken as a whole ... is it entertaining, like a movie should be? Ehh, not quite. But I also don't know that it's trying to BE that kind of movie. We Have Always ... is trying to be its own thing, and you kind of have to approach it as such. It's not a drama or a horror or a comedy or, well, any genre. It's its own thing. And you're either gonna appreciate for it, or you won't.