Danna Waldman

No movie is without both its flaws and and haters who are followed and parroted more often than by those willing to suspend disbelief and enter the story as witnesses first, and critics after. As an eager consumer of everything steampunk in particular and sci fi/fantasy in general, I've always been willing to go with the story, the actors, the cinematography, and the performances that are there, first. I've found and loved so many films which critics and haters have tried to ruin, that I generally look for lousy ratings on Rotten Tomatoes and other sites for recommendations. As an actor and script writer, I'm aware of how a production is a combination of so many forms of input, that sometimes it is like raku pottery. A ceramicist can do everything right to create the art of their dreams and still be left with an unsatisfactory result. It's no secret that corporate studios put hundreds of millions into blockbusters with what they think are the perfect and predictable elements and still come up with total dreck. I'm still grateful that I watched the last three (or the first three depending on how you look at it) of the Star Wars series on DVD and cable. They were awful in so many ways, it's not worth listing them. I watched Star Trek films that were abysmal. Marvel poured billions into films that tanked. Abigail (2019) has so much of what I like, that the flaws represent more failures of studio imagination, support, willingness to trust the writers and directors, budget restraints, outside interference, and lack of post production faith than any other kind of failure. The actors expressions of character, the intense darkness and mood of the setting, the realistic sets and costuming, The script is eloquent and effective. I see the decision to dub or not to dub as made under the pressure and scrutiny of those far removed from the core of the films production team. I went with it and it did very little to affect my wonder at the images and sounds. The casting is wonderful, and the performers are there, working with each other, and doing their jobs with focus, and skill. I liked it because the crew put serious effort into doing what they could with what they had. There were a minimum of wasted scenes where it feels like it's just burning film to make the movie long enough to keep people in their seats and score advertising dollars from product placement. So, there it is.