"Bring Her Back" - Review

When their father dies from falling over in the shower, siblings Andy and Piper (Billy Baratt and Sora Wong) are placed into the care system. Andy applies for guardianship, but cannot do so until he is 18. Not willing to be separated from the only person who means anything in the world to her, and not wanting his blind sister to be raised alone by strangers, the two kids stick together - and find themselves in the home of eccentric but beloved-in-the-community foster mother Laura (Sally Hawkins), who has lost a daughter of her own and is more than happy to take on Piper...

A bleak, harrowing tale of how grief transforms you, hollows you out and empties you, leaving you unable to recognise people, only remnants of that which you have lost and may never again have.
It's a far sturdier, far better film to the fairly solid debut "Talk to Me", and more than earns its 18 rating: It was torturous watching some of this, but never gratuitous. For the film makes sure to focus on true horror of being isolated, cut off from your support network, gaslit and betrayed by those who should trust you, being kept in the dark when horrifying things are happening. At the forefront are an excellent trio of performers: much has been made of Sally Hawkins' performance and she is indeed fucking incredible here. She gives me my favourite moment of the year, and is genuinely horrifying to watch on screen, all while being compelling, grounded, and bloody excellent in general: it's like her old Mike Leigh movies infested with demons. Yet she carries herself with a deep rooted, heartwrenching tragedy and sympathy, and is fucking so fucking good. But Baratt and Wong are not to be outshone here and should not be overlooked: Baratt (the grandson of Shakin' Stevens, fucking what?) is a sturdy, excellent lead who is put through the fucking wringer, and shows a lot of range. Wong has never acted before, and I want to see where the fuck she goes after this brilliant debut.
A gnarly, bloody, wicked film.
Don't go into it if you've had a bad day (this is weapons grade bad times), you have been warned.
It's a movie where nothing is going to be alright, nothing will ever be okay, death is random and grief will consume and destroy you if you let it.