Estranged (2015)

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About

A young woman returns to her estranged family's country manor after a near-fatal accident, only to suspect that the people welcoming her home are hiding something far darker than an unhappy past.

January has spent six years travelling abroad and has had no contact with her family in all that time. A road accident in Brazil leaves her temporarily confined to a wheelchair and robbed of her long-term memory, and with nowhere else to go she returns to England with her boyfriend Callum, who was driving when they crashed.

She remembers nothing of her childhood, and is surprised to find that home is a vast, isolated manor in the countryside. Her father Albert, mother Marilyn, brother Laurence and sister Kathrine seem stuck in another era, the house has no modern technology, and the family's warmth quickly turns controlling. When Callum vanishes from the house, January is left alone with people she cannot remember, trying to work out why she ran away in the first place and whether she is a guest or a prisoner.

Also known as January

Estranged was released in the UK and the United States as Estranged, but IMDb lists the film under the title January, the name of its lead character, with Estranged recorded as the alternative title. Anyone searching for "January (2015)" with Amy Manson or James Cosmo is looking for this film.

Ending explained

Spoilers follow.

As her memories return, January learns that the people calling themselves her family are not who they claim to be. They are former servants of the estate, and the hold they keep over her is rooted in revenge against her real father. Her amnesia is what lets them rewrite her past.

The butler Thomas, beaten into submission by Albert and the most sympathetic member of the household, becomes her unlikely ally. With his help January turns on her captors, and the finale is a burst of shotgun violence in which she kills Albert and Laurence. The film closes on January sitting bloodied on the steps of the manor as a gunshot rings out from Marilyn's room, physically free but with nothing left of the life she came back to find.

Accounts of some details differ between write-ups, particularly exactly what happened to Callum and how much of January's parentage the film spells out, so the film itself is the only reliable guide on those points.

Cast and characters

Amy Manson plays January, with Faye McLoughlin as January as a child. James Cosmo and Eileen Nicholas play Albert and Marilyn, the parents who welcome her home, and James Lance and Nora-Jane Noone play Laurence and Kathrine. Craig Conway is Thomas, the household's put-upon servant, and Simon Quarterman plays Callum. Bob Duff and Joy Sanders appear as Lord and Lady Dunfield.

Production and release

Estranged was the first fiction feature from director Adam Levins, who had previously worked in documentary. The screenplay is by Simon Fantauzzo and William Borthwick, and Steven Schneider, producer of the Paranormal Activity and Insidious films, is among the executive producers. It was shot at the Lambton Estate in County Durham.

The film premiered in the Discovery strand at Film4 FrightFest in London in August 2015. Icon Home Entertainment released it in the UK, where the BBFC classified the home release on 10 March 2016 at a running time of 88 minutes 40 seconds, citing strong violence, a scene of sexual violence and very strong language. Well Go USA released it on DVD, Blu-ray and digital in the United States on February 12, 2016.

Where to Watch

Details

Director: Adam Levins

Writer/Screenplay: Simon Fantauzzo, William Borthwick

Producer: William Borthwick, Violeta Grancelli

Tagline: There's no place like home.

Running time: 92 minutes (88 minutes 40 seconds on the UK home release)

Certificate: 18



Genre: * Horror

Released: August 2015 (Film4 FrightFest, London); United States home release February 12, 2016

Music Composer: Brian Crosby

Cast


Related

Trivia

  • Eileen Nicholas and James Cosmo play husband and wife here after previously playing Mr and Mrs Renton, the parents of Ewan McGregor's character, in Trainspotting (1996).
  • Craig Conway, who plays Thomas, is also credited as a co-producer.
  • The manor scenes were filmed at the Lambton Estate in County Durham, England.
  • IMDb lists the film under the title January.

Critical Reception

Estranged drew a mixed to positive response from genre critics. Jennie Kermode at Eye For Film gave it four stars, calling it a powerful and uncomfortable film and singling out Amy Manson's lead performance. Starburst compared it favourably with M. Night Shyamalan's The Visit (2015), suggesting it was the film The Visit had wanted to be.

Moria Reviews gave it three stars and likened it to the 1960s Hammer psychological thrillers, while Scream Horror Magazine felt the premise was familiar, recalling The Others (2001) and Stoker (2013), but that Levins' restraint and a strong supporting cast made it a gripping little thriller. Less convinced, Dennis Schwartz graded it B minus, praising Manson but finding the family's secrets muddled, and Blueprint Review found it engrossing and well made but felt the mystery was rushed.

Reviews

  • IMDb: 5.4/10 from around 2,960 ratings (listed as January)
  • Rotten Tomatoes: 28% from four critic reviews, audience score 35% from more than 100 ratings
  • Eye For Film: 4/5
  • Moria Reviews: 3/5
  • Dennis Schwartz Reviews: B-

Links

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