The Omen
Genre: Drama/Horror
Director: Ari Aster
Writer: Chad Taylor
Based on the 1976 film
Cast: Hugh Grant, Jennifer Connelly, Domhnall Gleeson, Peter DeSouza-Feighoney, Jude Hill, Thuso Mbedu, Stephen Graham, Camila Luddington, Liam Cunningham, Micheal Ward
Plot: In 2009, Prince George (Hugh Grant) of the United Kingdom married Lynn Palance (Jennifer Connelly), an American socialite he met while vacationing in Portugal and quickly proposed to. Lynn was George’s second wife, six years after his first marriage ended in a highly-publicized divorce. Their royal wedding was a sizable cultural event, in part for the attendance of King Edward, George’s older brother. In 2011, George and Lynn had a son named Damien.
This is their story.
Present Day
Rose (Thuso Mbedu), a quiet maid for Lynn and George, is frustrated as Damien (Peter DeSouza-Feighoney) is refusing to get dressed for the day. She is at her wit’s end and retrieves Lynn for help. Lynn apologizes for his behavior and sternly reminds her son of today’s importance. The four of them arrive at Balmoral Castle, the royal family’s Scottish estate, to celebrate Prince Alexander’s birthday. Alexander (Jude Hill) is the same age as Damien, even though his father King Alfred (Domhnall Gleeson) is George’s nephew. Alfred assumed the throne a few years prior after the death of his father Edward.
The party is sprawling out across the estate and has many different games for the children to play. Lynn is annoyed at her husband as he goes off to talk with Alfred in private while she must socialize with dozens of people that she’s not really friends with, while also keeping an eye on Damien. She makes small talk with Emma (Camila Luddington), Alfred’s wife, about their kids’ education before a small commotion is heard. Damien and Alexander are having a row over a game of red rover. Lynn heavily sighs but Rose approaches and offers to take care of it, as she can tell Lynn is stressed. Lynn warmly thanks her.
In a parlor, Alfred chats with George about his frustrations with the throne and is looking for an out. George offers a scheme where Alfred abdicates, George takes over until Alexander comes of age—at which time he can decide if he wants to take on the crown. Alfred likes the sound of it but isn’t sure what his wife would think.
Back on the south lawn, all seems back to normal. Lynn sneaks away for a momentary cigarette. Faint yells can be heard and heads start turning. The source is Rose, who is standing on a third-story window with a rope around her neck. She repeats Damien’s name before happily smiling. Lynn rounds the corner and searches the landscape before spotting Rose jumping from the window, followed by horrific grasps from the crowd of onlookers gawking at her hanging body—most of them children.
THE OMEN
A few days later, the Royal Family is at a facility undergoing trauma counseling following the incident, at the insistence of King Alfred. Unsurprisingly, he and his uncle are some of the least affected since they did not actually witness the incident first hand. Alexander is perhaps the most shaken and Emma tries to put on a strong demeanor to comfort him. Damien, on the other hand, spends the session asking Lynn questions about where Rose is now. She is unsure how to answer it, as she is not very religious herself, and ends up saying she’s in a better place. George, a devout Anglican, tells Damien that Rose is in Heaven.
Back at home that night, Lynn sits up in bed, in total silence as George is asleep. She tries to read a book but finds herself zoning out. She instead gets up and goes to Damien’s bedroom, where she lays by his side and comforts him.
George has his weekly meeting with his spiritual advisor, Bishop Wallace (Liam Cunningham). Wallace, who was present at the birthday celebration, voices some concerns he has about Damien. George asks what kinds of concerns. Wallace says that he senses the presence of the Devil in the child. George laughs this off, saying he probably just has a social deficiency of some sort. Wallace stays serious and reminds George that he knows that Lynn was pregnant before they even met. This angers George and says that Wallace is supposed to be a trusted confidant, not a blackmailer who holds confessions for ransom. Wallace says that he is only worried about George’s well-being is all as he doesn’t know everyone that Lynn has been with. George storms out.
To try and get their mind off of things, Lynn takes Damien to the zoo. They start off having a splendid time, with Damien particularly liking the penguins. However, when they reach the primate exhibit, the chimps become agitated and start aggressively banging on the protective glass. Children cower in fear and parents rush to leave the exhibit. As zookeepers rush in to monitor the situation, Damien seems only curious as the chimps seem to direct their attention towards him. Lynn, unable to handle all of the frantic noises, picks up Damien and hurries away. The chimps continue to violently thrash about.
As George goes about his daily business, he is approached by a Donny (Stephen Graham), a photojournalist from The Sun. It is immediately clear that the two have a history; George tries to keep Donny on his good side in exchange for a positive spin. Donny says he got pictures at Alexander’s birthday party and shows them to George, who immediately sees something wrong. As everyone is horror from the sight of Rose, Damien is always looking directly into the camera and smiling. George asks if Donny did this intentionally. Donny shakes his head and says it sends a certain chill down his spine when considering the maid was yelling Damien’s name. George requests Donny not publish it but Donny says he’s not the problem as every other photographer there came up with the same results. There’s going to be a narrative that the young boy encouraged the maid’s suicide. George hangs his head in frustration and thanks Donny for giving him this information, notably not asking him to shut it down.
Lynn is out for drinks with some friends at an exclusive lounge. They ask her how things are and she vents about the last few weeks. She says that she wishes she could just get a day of normalcy. She then begins to quietly break down and her friends comfort her. She apologizes and says that she needs to be stronger. She excuses herself and leaves the lounge. When she steps outside, she is surrounded by a group of photographers, which is fairly normal to her. But, amongst the crowd, a man (Micheal Ward) emerges and asks what Lynn has to say about Rose’s death, propping up the tabloid’s front cover. Lynn is flustered by this, and says she’s not answering any questions from journalists. The man then says that his name is Carl and Rose was his fiancee. Lynn’s face drops and she becomes apologetic. She says she is heartbroken over Rose’s death but says it has nothing to do with her son.
Back at home, Lynn berates George for perpetuating these conspiracy theories about their son. George says that’s rubbish and that, by the time he had heard about this, it was already the way to print. Lynn, in a stern voice, tells George that they need to protect their son. It may not be easy and it may not ever be easy. He hugs her and says that he knows that. He admits that Damien’s outbursts are stressful but that he was no saint as a child either. Lynn rests her head on his chest and thanks him for understanding. She then tells him about the bad experience that they had at the zoo the other day. He closes his eyes and nods as she recalls the story.
After another therapy session, Alfred invites the families to a dinner. There is a tense feeling in the air, as Lynn and George are frustrated by the recent headlines. Emma hugs Lynn and says she is sorry for what has surely been a tough week for her. Alfred, on the other hand, chooses not to talk about it and instead talks in private with George about their abdication plan. Alfred talked it over with Emma and she seemed resistant but he thinks he can convince her. Alfred asks about Lynn and George says he doesn’t plan to tell her. George jokes that even if she never approves, they can just do it anyways. For Damien, Alexander, and the other kids, all is normal as they play with their toys.
At dinner, everyone seems to be in a better mood and a joyous time is had until Alexander begins choking on a piece of meat. Emma, followed by Lynn and then Alfred, spring into action and begin trying to dislodge the piece. George’s first instinct, however, is to look towards Damien—who is looking up and calmly smiling at him. Alfred quietly asks if Damien gave his cousin some food he wasn’t supposed to have but Damien doesn’t answer. The others are able to get the food dislodged and Alexander is able to breath again. He begins crying in fear and Emma comforts him while Alfred calls an end to the evening’s festivities.
That night, Lynn has trouble sleeping and stumbles to the bathroom before violently vomiting. She goes back to the sleep and George never even bats an eyelid.
George visits Alfred at Buckingham Palace and Alfred says he clearly hasn’t been able to talk with Emma more after the choking incident. George asks if he can confide honestly in his nephew. Alfred says of course. George voices his worry that something might be…wrong with Damien. “Like he had something to do with that maid’s death, like the papers are saying?,” he asks. George fears it could be worse. Alfred, after a beat, nervously asks if that means Damien had something to do with Alexander choking. He loses the color in his face before George can even respond. Alfred openly wonders if Damien somehow heard about their proposed plan. George hangs his head and says surely not, or at least he doesn’t think a kid that young could be thinking about those type of political games. Alfred asks for honesty before wondering if Damien wants to kill Alexander. George takes a moment to formulate his response and says he doesn’t know.
Lynn goes to the store to pick up a few things, including a pregnancy test that she attempts to hide. Outside, she is approached by Donny. She does not want to see him and he says that he is only doing his job. He asks if she thinks she might be pregnant. She doesn’t answer and says that she does not need to tell him anything. She then says she could ask him something, though. Did George leak him the story about Damien? Donny smiles and says he can’t reveal his sources. She then asks him if he needs any new sources. He says it depends on what they can tell him. She tells him that her husband and his nephew may be conspiring to make a major change to the throne. This obviously piques Donny’s interest and he says that he can run bullshit if he has to but is genuinely curious if there is any truth to it. Lynn finally smiles back at him and leaves.
Donny rushes back to his office, a dull modern skyscraper in London. He hurries to the elevator to sneak in before it closes. He gets a call from George but ignores it. The doors to the elevator opens and someone exits followed by Donny, who realizes he has gotten off to early. He returns to the elevator but finds his camera bag has been caught on a stanchion outside. He tries to pull it back but the elevators door begin closing and he has his head caught in it. The people on the elevator begin trying to pull him loose but it is such a tight fit that it is difficult. He yells for them to remove his bag but the elevator begins going upwards again. The bystanders scream in horror as Donny is decapitated and his limp headless body crumples to the floor of the elevator’s floor.
The next day, Lynn takes the pregnancy test and is relieved to find that it is negative. She goes to watch cartoons with Damien, letting her mind zone out for a bit. They are interrupted by a somber George, who asks to talk with Lynn in private. She tenses up, suspecting he’s seen the leaked story. Instead, he delivers the news that Donny died in an accident. Lynn is stunned to hear this.
Later in the week, Alfred calls George and informs him that their deal is off, now that it has been linked to the press. George says he understands but is seething. He goes to his parlor and sits in silence as he takes in this news. He visits Bishop Wallace just to clear his mind, but does not bring up anything involving the crown nor Damien. Just some reflecting on his current place in life.
He returns home and finds that Lynn has gone to bed and put Damien to bed as well. He goes to lay down himself but finds it hard to sleep. He picks up his pillow and takes it to Damien’s room. After saying a prayer to himself, he sits down beside Damien and begins to suffocate the young boy. Damien begins thrashing about and Lynn rushes in to this ghastly scene. She goes to stop him but, in a instant, he pushes her away. This causes her to lose her balance and she stumble outside the room, where she falls over a railing and down to the first floor. George hears a distinct crunch as she hits the floor and he immediately releases the pressure from the pillow. He lumbers away from the bed and to the railing, slowly peaking over. He finds himself staring down at Lynn’s contorted body, the fall breaking her neck and killing her instantly.
He falls to the ground and looks through the railing’s bars down at her body for nearly a minute. His grief is interrupted when he feels a hand on his small shoulder and Damien asks if everything is alright. George looks up to his son and his gut reaction is to let out a laugh, before resting his head on Damien’s shoulder.
A funeral is held for Lynn the following week. Alfred and his family are in attendance but few words are spoken between him and his uncle.
The story given to the police and press alike is that Damien was having a nightmare and that George went to check on him. When Lynn checked to see what was happening, it startled George and he bumped into Lynn as a result, causing her fall. A complete accident.
Damien corroborated George’s story.
No comments:
Post a Comment