The new film Raging Grace is a wry surprise from England, a chamber piece with wicked twists.
Joy (Max Eigenmann) is an undocumented Filipino immigrant, struggling to do right by her daughter Grace (10 year-old Jaeden Boadilla) while staying under the immigration radar. Joy works menial jobs, saving up for her visa. She answers an ad for what seems like the perfect job as a live-in housekeeper at a stately mansion, its décor all wood and glass. Something’s odd right away: the furniture is covered in sheets, though the house is clearly lived in. Its mistress, Katherine (Leanne Best), is haughty and faux friendly; a grinning viper, she admonishes Joy when she's caught taking a personal call to "please remember this is your place of work and not your home." Katherine personally tends to a comatose man in a bed, forcing pills down his gullet, while Joy dutifully cleans around them.
Katherine doesn't know about little Grace, and Joy smuggles her daughter into the house in a large piece of luggage. She hides Grace from view, making her a bed in an armoire. But Grace is an imp, and chances getting caught. A peek-a-boo scene, with Grace narrowly evading discovery by Katherine, is fun and about as flashy as this film's staging gets. Then one night, while foraging in the dark kitchen, Grace is confronted by the mistress, terrified that she's been found out until she realizes the woman is sleepwalking. Grace follows Katherine into the attic. And then, with what she finds there, the fun begins.
The idea for Raging Grace came to Filipino-British director Paris Zarcilla during the pandemic, amidst isolation and memories of his own mother's servitude. This is his first feature. He directs with a sturdy, confident hand, framing the diminutive figures beneath the high ceilings of conspicuous wealth. Mr. Zarcilla aims to "create meaningful, profound and genre-bending stories," and Raging Grace qualifies: it's too heartfelt to be just satire, using sly flourishes that put a new spin on horror tropes.
Raging Grace is not just a witty entertainment but a searing commentary on racism and class. Its at first unassuming scenario is punctuated by title cards like "Taking Up the White Man's Burden" and "And Bid the Sickness Cease." At a strategic time in the action, an unexpected and colorful burst of traditional Filipino ceremony validates the social undercurrents of the script.
Max Eigenmann, who has numerous film and TV credits in England, turns in a subtly layered performance as Joy. Big-eyed Jaeden Boadilla plays precocious Grace with verve. Leanne Best's Katherine suffers her turnabouts in fine form. And David Hayman adds creepy charm. At one point, feeling overwhelmed by what she sees as his generosity, Joy ventures to address him as "Mister Garrett."
"Let's do away with 'mister,' please," he replies. "I prefer 'Master.'"
Raging Grace is simple in its elegance, deliciously withholding information or misdirecting, keeping the viewer off balance. Though events toward the end get a little deux ex machin-ey, the last line of dialogue is devastating, perfectly encapsulating Mr. Zarcilla's vison. Everything -- and everybody -- is deftly put in their place.
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Raging Grace. Written and directed by Paris Zarcilla. 2023. Produced by Brainstorm Media. Released by Doppelganger Releasing. In theaters. 95 minutes.