A character acknowledging that it’s weird doesn’t make it any less weird. A 47 yr old man and an 11 yr old girl form a relationship, and yes, it is weird. He then takes her to a hotel room. And from there he even takes her to a secluded cabin in the woods. However, LAMB seems intent to look at these situations with unbiased eyes. This adaptation of Bonnie Nadzam’s novel aims to present a challenging film that confronts viewers with an unorthodox relationship that takes a turn into dangerous territory. But for many people (including myself), it won’t be a challenge to feel uncomfortable about this relationship.
David Lamb (Ross Partridge) is struggling to cope with the death of his father and an ongoing divorce. He finds a form of peace when Tommie (Oona Laurence) walks into his life. Tommie is an eleven year old girl who, on a dare from her bratty friends, goes up to David and asks for a cigarette. After a conversation, he decides he should teach her friends a lesson by “scaring them” and pretending to kidnap Tommie. The young girl goes back to her poverty-stricken life with her detached parents later that night, but the two maintain a friendship. Their relationship takes a dark turn when David takes Tommie for a week to his father’s old cabin without her parents knowledge.
The film tries to make the male lead seem like he’s level-headed. We are meant to sympathize with him because the director (also Patridge) never shows him do anything “wrong.” Yes, he coaxes an impressionable young girl to leave her family on a whim, but it is staged as a way to provide guidance to someone he sees as being wayward or lost in the world. If he really wanted to help her and teach her lessons about life – if he really did care about her – he would realize he ruined her life. That she’s going to be mentally traumatized for the rest of her life.
The only thing challenging about the film is the performance from its star/director. It’s not an easy feat to lend a sense of humanity to a role like this. Not excusing his actions, but Partridge gives David inner turmoil that is burning inside him. Laurence is equally as strong. If it wasn’t for their two performances, I’m not sure the film would carry the weight that it does. Not to mention, the creepy factor might have been raised exponentially if it wasn’t for their calm and calculated performances.
Once their friendship progresses, she starts to question what is going on.“Maybe this should be our last outing for awhile.” Tommie responds in her naive but insightful way: “Why is that? Because it’s weird.” It’s during their car ride to the cabin in the Rockies that she becomes even more cognizant. Tommie pines to reach out to her family and even has a crying spell at a gas stations that garners the attention from a concerned stranger. But David tries to calm her in a dismissing way. “Have you ever seen a place so beautiful?” He asks as a means to distract her. Situations like this and David’s constant redirection when things go awry turn the story away from any hint of a father and daughter fantasy – which seems to be hinted at through his lectures to her about the world. Sure, he says he’s there to protect her, but when protection is forced and manipulative, it’s not necessarily for the good of the person you are protecting.
It’s weird to think about the purpose of the film. At times, it seems to be making a statement about how “normal” a very, very abnormal situation can be when taken out of the constraints of the city and let loose in nature without social norms. We aren’t necessarily supposed to accept this kind of relationship, but I think we’re supposed to understand how it can happen. I have a feeling I won’t be the only one who struggles with the implications of a wolf showing love to a lamb.
Overall rating: 3 out of 5
LAMB opens in St. Louis on January 15
