So, I went into this movie assuming there was some kind of monster or paranormal horror aspect going on. There was not.
The movie centers around Ricci's mental instability, but you don't find that out until the very end. So, the whole movie ends up being about her interacting with her already dead son, whom she believes is still alive and in her mind, they're set in the 1950's because I assume that's her idea of the "ideal" time to live in.
I kept looking for a relationship between Ricci's son and the lake monster, of which there is never a relationship explained or inferred. Her son died in a pool, and now suddenly a lady/lake monster is here to take her already gone son from her. Makes no sense, and seems to be chosen at random. Even if this were Ricci's mind making up this "monster" there is no connection made in the movie that would lead you to understand why she would have chosen a lake monster. The closest thing I can think of would just be the connection of water (her son dying in a pool, and then being dragged to the afterlife by a being originating from water).
Anyway, I loved Ricci's acting, and the costumes and scenery design were beautiful, but the actual story was terrible. Could have been really good if they had just made a better connection between the son dying and Ricci's character actually coming to terms with it in a way that made sense instead of a random lake monster.
The movie centers around Ricci's mental instability, but you don't find that out until the very end. So, the whole movie ends up being about her interacting with her already dead son, whom she believes is still alive and in her mind, they're set in the 1950's because I assume that's her idea of the "ideal" time to live in.
I kept looking for a relationship between Ricci's son and the lake monster, of which there is never a relationship explained or inferred. Her son died in a pool, and now suddenly a lady/lake monster is here to take her already gone son from her. Makes no sense, and seems to be chosen at random. Even if this were Ricci's mind making up this "monster" there is no connection made in the movie that would lead you to understand why she would have chosen a lake monster. The closest thing I can think of would just be the connection of water (her son dying in a pool, and then being dragged to the afterlife by a being originating from water).
Anyway, I loved Ricci's acting, and the costumes and scenery design were beautiful, but the actual story was terrible. Could have been really good if they had just made a better connection between the son dying and Ricci's character actually coming to terms with it in a way that made sense instead of a random lake monster.