Good Manners Review (Film, 2017) #31DaysOfHorror
content warning: blood, gore, violence against women, sexual content, violence against animals, self-harm, drug abuse, violence against children, medical/surgical footage
Clara, a nurse, is hired by Ana, a wealthy soon-to-be-mother, to nanny her unborn child. She will live with her in the house, taking care of Ana until the baby is born. Then more staff will be hired. Everything goes great until the full moon approaches. Ana becomes increasingly driven by desire, doing whatever she wants to do whenever she wants to do it. Clara realizes what is happening too late to stop the cycles from getting worse.
Good Manners (As Boas Manieras) comes from writer/director team Juliana Rojas and Marco Dutra. It’s an incredibly stylish dark fantasy/horror film with a unique perspective on werewolves. Here, the transformation is not always physical. There are cravings for raw meat, sex, and violence, but the werewolves aren’t necessarily turning into literal wolves once a month. Their animalistic instincts come out, instead.
The film is beautiful. Rojas and Dutra put so much detail in every shot. The design of Ana’s home is incredibly modern, which lends itself to excellent manipulation with different lighting effects. What seems serene in the day can be a terrifying other dimension at night. Even the wardrobe helps tell the story, with Clara in patterns of black and white and Ana in a loop of light and dark solid colors as she cycles through her transformations. As their relationships develop, their two styles merge into one. Still, when Ana starts to change, the distance returns in their styling.
Even the baby’s name, Joel, has greater meaning, specifically referencing its biblical status. The Book of Joel, found in the Old Testament, deals with a plague of locusts as a metaphor for the apocalypse and the promise of safety in the face of catastrophe. It even goes into prophecy and reading what is to come. If that’s not a fitting metaphor for a pregnancy horror story about werewolves, I don’t know what is.
Isabél Zuaa, as Clara, and Marjorie Estiano, as Ana, give incredible performances. They’re fully committed to this forbidden romance/monster story. They play so well off of each other in the increasingly bizarre scenario, adapting to each other’s traits while drifting further apart. Zuaa is following Estiano’s lead to maintain her job and protect the soon-to-be mother, but becomes increasingly disturbed by what she witnesses. The nighttime walk after they sleep with each other is one of the most intense explorations of reaction in horror film performances I’ve seen in a very long time.
The story only grows in more unexpected ways as it progresses. Rojas and Dutra cover this interpretation of the werewolf myth from more perspectives than you might imagine possible. It’s a fascinating screenplay exploring this world in two acts.
Good Manners is a unique horror film with a lot of crossover appeal. It’s a relationship-driven story with a gorgeous aesthetic. The more extreme content is softened by this approach. The film is a strong, unique take on an older horror story.
Good Manners is streaming on Shudder.
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