Good Manners (film)
Good Manners (Portuguese: As Boas Maneiras) is a 2017 Brazilian film written and directed by Marco Dutra and Juliana Rojas and starring Isabél Zuaa and Marjorie Estiano.
| Good Manners | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Marco Dutra |
| Written by | Marco Dutra Juliana Rojas |
| Starring | Isabél Zuaa Marjorie Estiano |
Release date |
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| Country | Brazil |
The film is about a woman named Clara who takes a job as a housekeeper and nanny for a wealthy woman only to realize that the job and pregnancy are more complicated than she originally believed.
The film premiered at the 70th Locarno International Film Festival where it won the Special Jury Prize.[1]
Plot
Clara (Isabél Zuaa) interviews for a nanny job despite having no experience or references. Just as she is about to be turned down for the job, the woman interviewing her, Ana, experiences cramping. A sympathetic Clara guides her through the pain and Ana decides to hire her as a live in housekeeper and future nanny.
On her 29th birthday Ana gets drunk and reveals to Clara that she is estranged from her family. Originally engaged to one man she cheated on him and conceived a child from her affair. Her parents sent her to the city to have an abortion but after she refused to go through with it they cut off contact with her.
Ana is ordered by her doctors not to consume meat. One night Clara finds her rifling through the fridge. When Clara tries to guide her to bed Ana kisses her before scratching her hard enough to draw blood. The following morning Ana does not appear to remember the incident.
Clara realizes that the incident might be connected to the full moon. The following full moon Ana passionately kisses Clara and the two have sex. Later that night Ana sleepwalks again. Clara witnesses her murdering and eating a cat. The following day Clara tells Ana about her sleepwalking. She also puts some of her blood into Ana's meal in order to alleviate her desire for blood and her sleepwalking.
On the following full moon Ana experiences terrible cramping. Before Clara can call for help Ana's stomach ruptures, killing her, but leaving her baby, a were-child, alive. Clara initially decides to run away and abandon the baby to die, but changes her mind and decides to raise it herself.
7 years later Clara works as a nurse and is raising Joel as her own. To protect him she has raised him as a vegetarian and chains him up during full moons. After Clara's landlady gives Joel meat he becomes aggressive with her and searches through her things where he uncovers a photo of Ana. Clara reluctantly admits Ana is his birth mother but insists she does not know who his birth father is.
Joel decides to look for his father, the only clue being a receipt from a shopping mall Ana bought shoes at. He and a friend go to the mall but are locked in when they stay inside past closing. As it is still a full moon, Joel transforms into a werewolf and attacks his friend. He returns home alone but is seen by Clara's landlady who wants to perform an exorcism on him. Clara decides to run away with Joel but he instead locks her in the room she uses to hide him during full moons. Joel tries to attend a dance with a classmate named Jackie, but transforms into a werewolf again. Clara, who has managed to escape, shoots him before he can kill again.
Clara takes Joel home and bandages him up. Meanwhile the locals have realized he is a werewolf and prepare to kill him. Clara manages to tame Joel so that he does not attack her. As the locals bang on the door, Clara and Joel prepare to face them together.
Reception
The film received a score of 95% on review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes and a 73 from Metacritic indicating positive reviews.[2][3]
References
- KESLASSY, ELSA. "Distrib Films US Acquires Locarno's Jury Prize Winning 'Good Manners' (EXCLUSIVE)". Retrieved 21 December 2019.
- "GOOD MANNERS (AS BOAS MANEIRAS)". Retrieved 21 December 2019.
- "Good Manners 2018". Retrieved 21 December 2019.
External links
- Good Manners on IMDb