Review of Joshua (1976) by Mike B — 09 Jan 2008

Tale as old as time...ok, I wasnt sure about this one because you get to a point where it seems like one more movie with a creepy kid in it will push you over the edge, but I was really pleasantly surprised.

..i liked that joshua is not hollywoodly and conveniantly explained with some "he's the spawn of satan" or "pure evil" business. instead, its a sibling jealousy story with a great rosemary's baby feel to it.

ill admit, the first hour or so was a bit slow, but the rest of more than made up for it. sam rockwell again shows that he's destined for some really great roles someday. good cast when you break it down: along with rockwell, theres michael mckean as rockwell's overbearing boss, vera farmiga (the chick from the departed) stays one melodramatic expression away from total insanity to great effect, and celia wiston does supporting acting like nobody else.

I enjoyed that the story touched on some other topics other than the is he/isnt he evil plot line, like the idea of brad being a small town boy who went off to "play city" and now his family is disconnected and insane.

..the ending is probably one of the most haunting endings ive seen in a very long time. still dont know what to make of it...good stuff.