As a fan of all Daddario and Farmiga siblings, and Sebastian Stan’s face, I decided to watch We Have Always Lived in the Castle last night. Adapted from Shirley Jackson’s 1962 mystery novel of the same name, this film wasn’t necessarily mysterious based on today’s standards, but it was certainly eerie. Mainly because lead, Merricat (Taissa Farmiga), is quite odd and very succinct in her actions and vocabulary.
The film opens with Merricat, older sister Constance, and their ailing uncle Julian in an isolated mansion. They are isolated because several years back, Constance was tried and acquitted of poisoning her parents. Now Constance never leaves the house, so once a week, Merricat heads to town to run errands where she is harassed by the townspeople. Merricat also practices her own forms of protective magic by burying certain items to keep Constance in the house.
One day, the routine is broken and Merricat has to go to town on a unscheduled day. In the tizz of going to town she forgets to reinforce her wards, and when she returns to warn Constance she find their cousin Charles at the house. Merricat despises Charles, as he belittles Julian and is wooing Constance into leaving so he can steal the family’s fortune, so she decides to cast destructive spells on him and his things. After Charles threatens to punish Merricat she knocks all of his belongings in the trash including a lit pipe. Merricat irriates Charles and he beats her as Constance watches frozen in fear. he only stops when he sees his room ablaze.
With the house on fire, the townspeople come and begin to destroy the house even more. The sisters flee and we learn Julian has died in the house. After a night in the woods, the sisters return to the house to start and tidy up. The townspeople return to the house dropping off food, as they feel remorseful for their behavior the prior night. Soon after, Charles returns and begs Constance to let him in, but to no avail. He then breaks into the house and attacks Constance. Merricat stops him by bludgeoning him to death with a snow globe. Some time later, with the sisters still in the disintegrating house, Merricat confronts some hecklers. When she goes back inside, Constance tells her she loves her, and for the first time, Merricat smiles.
Like I said, not really a mystery, but the house was creepy! I did love everyone’s performances in this film though! Taissa Farmiga was delightfully strange as Merricat, and Alexandra Daddario was such a sweet, albeit naive older sister. I loved how incoherent and odd Crispin Glover was as uncle Julian, and Sebastian Stan played the perfect asshole. The pace in this film was just right to make it interesting throughout. If you want to watch a really neat indie film, add this to your list!