Baby Ruby

I thought I was being cheeky when I found myself thinking, early on, that the first impression this was making was as a public service announcement advising against pregnancy and child-rearing. The thing is, even with some wonderfully enticing, unnerving moments bringing pointed psychological horror to bear, as the length advances it increasingly comes across that this was a rather accurate impression after all. At bare minimum filmmaker Bess Wohl has in part latched onto the unacknowledged truth that some new mothers resent or even hate their children, countermanding the cultural expectation or demand that childbirth be upheld as "joyous," and a "miracle" - but then again, there are also straightforward horror-thriller vibes on hand, and major notes of post-partum depression, and ultimately also the amplification for genre thrills of the acute fears of new parents. But wait, those are five distinct ideas that 'Baby Ruby' is trying to encapsulate. There are also select moments that almost inspire laughter, coming across as fresh cut brass from a parallel horror-comedy. Just what was it that this wanted to be? All told, I can only firmly stand by that first impression.

I adore Noémie Merlant, and she's been terrific in anything of hers that I've watched; even if a picture falters in other regards, one can in the very least trust Merlant to give a fantastic performance, and quite anchor and elevate the whole just by being a part of it. This is no less true here; I admit bias since I'm already a fan, and she was the reason I sat to watch in the first place, but I think the actor is the chief consistent strength of these ninety minutes. The rest of the cast is great too, of course, and in all other ways this is splendidly well made in terms of stunts, effects, filming locations, art direction, hair, makeup, cinematography, editing, and so on. In what is apparently her directorial debut, I also think Wohl illustrates fine skills in orchestrating shots and scenes. Only: what tone is she trying to strike here? What exactly is it that she was driving at with her screenplay, and what should we as viewers be taking away from it? The one definitive guiding ethos of the narrative is "parenting is hard," and I appreciate the notion of twisting this into a horror flick. As the conception here tries to stir various odds and ends together, however, it comes off not as multifaceted but as unfocused, which again returns us to my takeaway - that the audience is being warned against considering procreation, or even adoption.

Maybe 'Baby Ruby' would be more meaningful if I had any slight inclination toward being a mother. Maybe I'm being overly critical, and cynical, and the mix of ingredients is just right in capturing for horror ends the apprehension of being a new parent. I think there are superb ideas in here. I just also think there are too many ideas, and the result becomes jumbled. If Wohl as writer had concentrated more discretely on just one or two thoughts - or maybe more to the point, dispensed with one or two thoughts - then I think the feature would be more strongly centered, and it would be more effective and impactful in turn. I honestly don't dislike this, and I want to hold it in higher esteem than I do; the sum total simply doesn't do much for me when fine acting and craftsmanship is weighed against a screenplay that feels kind of cluttered and subsequently diluted. I'm glad for those who get more out of 'Baby Ruby' than I do, and I look forward to seeing more from Wohl in the future. And hey, if nothing else, mission accomplished: I've been decisively convinced to never become a parent.

I know this did not get great critic reviews and I imagine the majority of reviewers here will do the same because they all seem to be of one mind anyway...

I figured this would be the usual pseudo-deep indie bore-fest with long scenes of the protagonist staring into space along with carefully sculpted scenes of nature or an urban landscape, but surprisingly this was nothing like that.

There was a plot and a story to follow, with wit and humor in the direction if not so much in the script, and I was never bored for a second. I also appreciated the few fantastical touches as they were necessary for the journey, ours and the protagonist's. And the baby was adorable, so there's that..

Overall, very well done, and well acted.

Baby Ruby is the type of movie that can cause your good mood to nosedive into sadness, disgust, and discomfort.

It begins with with a young couple giving birth to their first child. Expectations for a happy life of three seems destined, but soon reality slaps them in the face. The new mother is distraught by the burden of their new baby girl. She is constantly bombarded with the child's crying and need for attention. Motherhood isn't what she expected. Soon she becomes delusional without the ability to distinguish fact from fiction...fantasy from reality. Her behavior becomes bizarre and alarming. Everyone around her is affected.

The film feels like a schizophrenic nightmare...like a bad mushroom trip.

However it's well acted and well done. It makes u feel just as the makers intended.

A debut film from playwright Bess Wohl that focuses on a French lifestyle blogger named Jo, who experiences postpartum depression and postpartum psychosis. After giving birth to her baby Ruby, Jo begins to feel that her newborn is hostile towards her and she is unable to shake the feeling. The film keeps a close first-person perspective, showing Jo's increasingly paranoid mindset through shock cuts and hallucinatory elements, leaving the audience to question what is real and what is not. The movie's intent is to address the struggles that many new mothers face, but the constant use of horror tropes like pot boiling on the stove and repetitive "did I just dream it or did it really happen" moments drain away the power from the underlying message.

The film's real bite comes from its cultural observation of entitled girl boss culture, the "pick me girl" turned new mom, and the private citizen acting like a celebrity/expert, but these elements are presented more as background noise rather than the main event. Ultimately, "Baby Ruby" falls short of fully exploring these important cultural issues and instead focuses on the horror and melodramatic elements of Jo's postpartum struggles.

I thought this sounded like an interesting concept, social media has baby and things go wrong is what I got from the synopsis.

The film kind of went how I expected but lacked or even included too many things for it to be a good film.

It lacked meat on the bones of the overall storytelling from her backstory to her life in general. It included too many different characters and themes without managing to nail any of them.

It has a fairly dark dreary look which can add to the tone of a film and its not something I dislike but its done in a fairly weak manner that it never really hits you with any impact.

When the focus here is on the lead actress you really need a great lead and Noémie Merlant never pulls it off. The melancholic feels are all there but everything else is just placid. The rest of the cast ( including Kit Harrington ) are bit players and often overlooked or put in a corner once their purpose has been served. Many of which serve little purpose that really get to you in an unnerving way as intended.

You could remove a few characters and give others more to do and Im sure the impact would have been greater. I don't know an awful lot about Post Natal Depression so its difficult to comment on the realism in how it was used. Overall though it ended up being a bit disjointed and withering to a pretty anticlimactic ending.

There are flickers of horror and an ever omnipresent haunting flow to the film but little else.

5/10.