An accomplished writer/director of film and television to create meaningful, profound, genre-bending stories, Paris Zarcilla is sure to make waves once he puts his foot in the industry. With a slew of impressive shorts under his name, he now moves to feature-length productions with a multitude of awards for his debut feature “Raging Grace”.
Raging Grace screend at San Diego Asian Film Festival
Trying to make a better life for herself, undocumented single mother Joy (Max Eigenmann) moves from house to house working any job she can while trying to care for her daughter Grace (Jaeden Paige Boadilla) who's along for the ride. Up against a tight deadline to try to find enough money to get out of their debt, she stumbles into a job working for Katherine (Leanne Best) at her mansion home looking after her ailing uncle Mr. Garrett (David Hayman) who's about to pass away but wants the best care possible before he does. Moving in together while Grace moves about in secret, the more they stay there the more they realize that the bizarre relationship at play with Katherine and Mr. Garrett may put them in danger.
There's quite a lot to like with “Raging Grace.” Among its brighter aspects is a solid central setup by writer/director Zarcilla that makes for a wholly engaging scenario. The first half explores quite heavily and naturally the desperation Joy feels at keeping her life in order, despite it all crumbling down around her. This ranges from the struggles of finding housing for her and Grace, facing racism and misogynistic abuse for the work she does, and the natural indignation of being a single mother. This gives the new job opportunity with Katharine such a sense of importance for Joy which she can use as a means of escaping this lifestyle only to end up stumbling upon a far more dangerous threat inside Katharine's house which gets uncovered slowly during her employment. This is handled incredibly well for a great start to things.
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This early setup allows “Grace” to ratchet up the tension in the second half. Zarcilla employs a rather frenetic ploy as the living conditions Joy had been working under change constantly due to a solid series of explanations and reveals that come about. With so much of the first part involving Grace living there in secret trying not to alert Katherine about it or being inundated with all sorts of rules about her care routine and responsibilities, there's an air of suspense and unease present. That helps to make the revelations that come about regarding the proper treatment or loyalty far more shocking and clever. As these lead into a frenetic finale offering some shocking truths and reveals about who's in charge, it all provides quite a lot to enjoy here.
While not overtly a flaw, “Raging Grace” does have some drawbacks to be had. One of the main factors against it is the second half introducing some extra reveals and reversals which don't need to be there. The incidents involving the true unscrupulous behaviour of Katherine and Mr. Garrett battling for the position of head of the house come off as forced as if this is relying on providing a shocking barrier for Joy to overcome as the main focus. Instead, this ends up causing a whirlwind of ideas floating about at random, thus creating a decided lack of focus as a result. Now, this factor doesn't impact quite heavily at all but due to the rather heavy care that the first half had displayed, this becomes obvious and is what holds it back.
A stand-out drama/thriller that touches nicely on the genre as a whole, there are a lot of positives with “Raging Grace” even if it does fall off the rails in the final half. Those who appreciate this approach in their genre fare or prefer more heady subject matter than the usual blood and guts will have plenty to like with this one.
