South by Southwest movie review: 'Here Before'

Andrea Riseborough captivates as a mother who sees too many similarities between the new neighbor girl and the daughter she lost in the psychological thriller 'Here Before' (screening at 2021 South by Southwest).

In short: After new neighbors move in next door, bereaved mother Laura (Riseborough) begins to question her reality.

'Here Before' is totally empathetic to Laura's journey as a mother who has lost a child. From the outset, the story finds Laura in a place where she has regained some sense of normalcy back in her life - yet, also in a place where her deceased daughter Josie isn't too far from her mind. So when Megan moves in next door, Laura cannot help but be reminded of Josie - and she cannot help but notice the eerie similarities Megan shares with Josie.

The entire film hinges on the concept that Megan, somehow or someway, is painfully aware of memories that only Josie would know. Once the idea is seeded in Laura's head, it slowly infects her every thought. And it's in Laura's gradual unraveling where Riseborough's arresting performance takes command of the film. The basic possibility is so outlandish that even Laura is worries she is going crazy. 'Here Before' is at its best when it simply follows Laura's deterioration, with Riseborough's restrained performance allowing for Laura's shift from grieving mother to a woman driven to the brink of madness.

The internal logic, however, of an otherwise gripping film doesn't quite add up. So many characters and circumstances have to conspire together just to keep the film moving in a very specific direction. At one point, a character even concedes that "everything else just happened." Upon a second viewing, so much of the narrative justification for this story comes off as forced and manipulative. Riseborough's stellar performance totally sells why Laura might believe what she believes, however, the entire film is transparently conceived to achieve one goal: make Laura question her sanity by dangling the tantalizing possibility that Josie has returned to her in the form of Megan. The plot bends over backward, contorting itself against any common sense or believability, to put Laura in the exact circumstances needed for her to become obsessed with reincarnation.

Final verdict: This slow burn of a psychological spiral is anchored by a shattering performance from Riseborough, even if the story itself is structurally unsound.

Score: 3.5/5

'Here Before' screens at 2021 South by Southwest. This Irish psychological thriller is not yet rated and has a running time of 84 minutes.