Katherine
is the doctor in her family and her husband Richard is the nurse. This is a
fact she never lets him forget, especially when they disagree over the
treatment of their congenitally ill son, Andy. It would seem Andy’s relentlessly
domineering mother has lost sight of the forest for the trees in her zeal to care
for Andy’s ailments, but their new pre-teen neighbor soon suspects Dr. K has a
more sinister agenda in John McNaughton’s The
Harvest (trailer
here),
which opens midnight-ish this Friday in New York, at the IFC Center.
Recently
orphaned, Maryann was forced to move in with her grandparents, who quietly reside
in an exurban Upstate New York farm house. There are not a lot of neighbors
around, so when she sees wheelchair-bound Andy through his window, she feels
compelled to introduce herself, in reverse Romeo and Juliet style. Poor Andy is
completely unaccustomed to talking with kids his age. Nonetheless, Maryann
senses a kindred underdog spirit. While Andy’s father is willing to turn a
blind eye to their friendship, his excessively controlling mother simply will
not have it.
Frankly,
at least half the film is devoted to the youngsters budding friendship and
Maryann’s industrious efforts to circumvent Dr. Feelbad’s roadblocks. When Andy’s
mother really starts playing hardball, it starts to ignite Maryann’s
suspicions. After a little internet searching and a bit of snooping around the
house, she becomes convinced Andy is in profoundly grave danger.
That
patience is what really distinguishes the film. In all honesty, viewers should
form a pretty accurate hypothesis simply from the film’s title and the general
lack of agriculture depicted therein. However, the earnest and innocent
chemistry of the two leads, Natasha Calis and Charlie Tahan, along with
Samantha Morton’s absolutely ferocious turn as the monstrous mom are quite
impressive. As usual, Michael Shannon is dependably understated as Andy’s
conflicted father, instilling the film with further ambiguity. It is also
rather mind-blowing to see Peter Fonda turn up as Maryann’s kindly grandfather,
but he plays the part with suitably earthy dignity.
