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There’s a middle ground between the folklore and the postpartum allegory that Nightborn wants to centre itself on. The film builds upon the idea of Finnish tales of woodland creatures stealing away babies, while also having its lead crumble under motherhood.
When they move to the Finnish countryside, Saga (Seidi Haarla) and Jon (Rupert Grint) aren’t scared by the rundown home. It’s got all the room and potential to become the family-raising centre they want for their kids: to grow up surrounded by nature and have the childhood they dream of. But when Saga gives birth, and their newborn is both hairy and relentlessly screams and struggles to eat, she soon begins to regret the birth and becoming the mother she wanted to be isn’t as easy as she thought.
It’s not just that the baby looks weird; although the dynamic question about unrelenting love from parents is one question the film seems to raise, it’s that it’s unquestionable abnormal. The newborn hates light, bites on his mother’s nipple seeking the blood below, not the milk, and has a strength beyond what should be normal for someone his age. Everyone who sees the child comments on his abnormality, and the incessant screaming is unrelenting for both the new parents, the rest of the family and friends who visit and, in particular, the audience members. It’s a lot, and basically never-ending.
There are a couple of bloody scenes in Nightborn, including a graphic birth scene, and what happens when a baby’s strength gets a hold of grandma’s earrings, but it’s the ongoing cries and screaming of the baby that might be the point of annoyance for some viewers. I couldn’t tell if it was driving me mad as intended, or if it had simply been overdone. There’s a fine line with some things when it comes to wanting the audience to feel like the character on screen, and another when you’re actually making them want to mute some scenes altogether. Not because it’s a sound that’s making you sick, scared or in pain, but one that, like the mother in Nightborn, makes you want to tell the baby to “shut up,” as mean as it all is to say.
Performance-wise, there’s also a divide here also between outrageously over the top or just a bit silly; Haarla falls ever on the line, or over it quite often in the film. It doesn’t help that her performance is often paired against a not-so-believable puppeted baby, which would have been better off kept in the shadows, or teased than shown either. The two in scenes together are often having to be brought back to reality by a well-rounded Grint who can portray the caring husband and father figure well. However, there would be plenty of room for his character to look to understand his wife more, rather than repeat the postpartum books and advice he’s received. His intentions, nonetheless, are good.
Is Nightborn more focused on the motherhood journey or that of the folklore that’s beset this family and child? I wasn’t too sure by the end of the film, and this is its biggest problem. In attempting to do both, it comes off unfocused, and the ending left me with nothing.
(Screener provided to Explosion Network.
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