Nocebo – Movie Review
Director: Lorcan Finnegan
Writer: Garret Shanley (Screenplay)
Cast
- Eva Green (Casino Royale)
- Mark Strong (Kingsman Secret Service)
- Chai Fonacier (Jesus is Dead)
- Billie Gadsdon (Cruella)
- Cathy Belton (Philomena)
Plot: A fashion designer is suffering from a mysterious illness that puzzles her doctors and frustrates her husband, until help arrives in the form of a Filipino carer, who uses traditional folk healing to reveal a horrifying truth.
Runtime: 1 Hour 37 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: Nocebo starts when fashion designer Christine (Green) sees her mysterious illness getting worse. Her husband Felix (Strong) tries to help but doctors can’t find an answer. After Diana (Fonacier) arrives on her doorstep to become the new carer, she brings fresh ideas.
Diana shows a more traditional style of healing, one she bought with her from the Philippines. This sees an improvement in Christine; however, the truth is even more disturbing for the family.
Verdict on Nocebo
Characters
Christine is a fashion designer on the verge of her biggest deal to date. However, she is suffering from an illness that sees her struggling with everyday routine. When it starts getting worse, a new carer comes to offer a different method to help her. While she does see improvements, it is the strange events around her home that confuse things more.
Felix is Christine’s husband, he has been supporting her through her illness, trying to keep life as calm as possible. He witnesses the changes around the home and starts getting more concerned about the truth.
Diana is the mysterious Filipino carer that comes to help Christine around the home and with her illness. Her methods are different and more traditional, and she shows more about her past in her decision-making. Diana has a mysterious past that is used to build a connection with Christine’s daughter.
Performances
Eva Green in the leading role is great, she shows her character’s struggles with her health. Both physical and mental health battles she is going through. Chai Fonacier is the star of the show, with her performance. She holds plenty back, however, there is plenty more to her character. Mark Strong is the most disappointing, not that he is bad, it is more than he is underused.
Story
The story follows a fashion designer with a mysterious illness that finds a new carer offering a solution. As she starts to improve, she gets to learn the shocking truth about why she has arrived in her life.
This is a thriller that looks to balance the concept of mental health and haunting events. It uses the mystery behind the carer turning up mysteriously and offers a bigger connection to what has happened in the past. There is plenty of mystery and horrific events throughout the movie.
Themes
Nocebo uses the horror of an unknown illness to play into the horrendous vision Christine goes through. However, the bigger mystery going on is what will draw you in. It goes deeper into the past leaving us with a shocking conclusion.
Final Thoughts – Nocebo is a disturbing horror, with plenty of twists.
