Out this week on blu-ray/dvd is Robert Eggers's The Witch. Warmly received by critics, but divisive for general audiences, the film is a marvel of craft and inescapable dread. But the film is more than its horror elements and immaculate period detail - at the center is a potent family tragedy as well-developed as any drama you'll seen this year. And the bruised soul of that tragedy is actress Kate Dickie.
Dickie stars as the matriarch of a Puritan family banished from their New England settlement in the 17th century. Her Katherine begins the film essentially wordless during the excommunication, then is defined by her off-screen sobs after the film's first punishments. Once Katherine collects herself, she quickly reveals herself to be a devout believer firmly planted in her role as wife and mother. As things quickly turn from bad to worse, her agony surges with authentic depth until she becomes willingly deluded by her own suffering.
Dickie's portrayal is a prime example of The Witch offering more than its horror contemporaries...
Her pain resurfaces in flashes of spite and blinding regret, the actress never allowing her to becoming a simple wailing caricature. Dickie makes acts of compassion or affection a relief for the mother, a respite from the walls closing in on her. Under her intelligent handling, we see that Katherine isn't just suffering a crisis of faith, but losing every tool she has to understand her situation.
Before the film's most terrifying scene, Dickie delivers a devastating monologue that turns the audience perception of her character on its head. Tucked into a monologue about her wavering faith, she reveals that Katherine's pain originates in the immigrant experience. Whispered with an air of shame and confession, Dickie's moment here is powerful and raw, taking the film to unexpected emotional depths. Just as Essie Davis elevated The Babadook with her intensity, this supporting turn raises the stakes of the incoming terror and creates a uniquely rattling experience for the audience. When is the last time you choked up at a horror film? This performance took me there.
It's unlikely that The Witch will fare well in year-end awards thanks to genre biases, but we'd be lucky to have viable Best Supporting Actress contenders as rich and layered as Kate Dickie is here. The performance itself is exceptional, but it also turns The Witch into the rare horror film that can stir up audience emotions other than fear.
The Witch is available now on DVD/Blu-Ray. Were you also moved by Kate Dickie's performance?