For the Chicago Critics Film Festival, I had the chance to check out director Jennifer Kent’s latest endeavour, THE NIGHTINGALE. Jennifer Kent has already cemented her status in the film industry with her debut The Babadook. Although divisive, the movie was ambiguous enough to keep people talking and created a new monster to be scared of. It’s a while coming, but she’s finally come back with a film that’s going to get plenty of audience members uncomfortable. While THE NIGHTINGALE has its gruesome moments, don’t confuse this as another horror film.

Aisling Franciosi stars as Clare, an Irish convict living in 1825, where her small crime leaves the idea that men can treat her less than human. A British officer uses her as a servant for consequences but eventually leads to him raping her multiple times. One night goes even more horrifying when her husband is not only forced to watch but is killed by the officer’s men. Her baby suffers the same fate and she’s left behind. When she awakes, she refuses to just let things be and decides to go find those who hurt her and her family with the company of an Aboriginal tracker named Billy.

It’s easy to classify THE NIGHTINGALE as a rape-revenge film, but it doesn’t exploit any of the violence. At the risk of sounding cliche, it truly is a movie of someone finding their self-worth despite what others may say. The film feels eerily relevant to current events, specifically women’s rights and the #metoo movement. I do feel that this is truly a feminist film without apologies. While there’s an awful sense of loss, Clare’s journey into the horrors of reality introduces her to worlds outside of her own pain. While this may be a hard film to watch, it’s an important one to watch.

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Jovy Skol

Jovy grew up loving all kinds of horror movies which is ironic because his parents hated them. CANDYMAN still scares the shit out of him and it doesn’t help that he lives in the Chicago suburbs. He loves venturing into lesser-known exploitation films of the 70s and being introduced to new movies. Along with movies, Jovy loves horror video-games and books, including comics. Some of his favorite franchises include SILENT HILL, A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET, and the RESIDENT EVIL games.

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