Joshua (Dvd) - Both

Joshua is a suspenseful sparse drama in the vein of The Good Son (1993) and to a lesser extent The Omen (1976, 2006). The star, Jacob Kogan, plays a child whose conscience and emotions are void and whose family has just welcomed a new baby sister. He seems indifferent to this addition and in the first scene where the new sister is brought home by the couple his character, Joshua, plays a stark dirge on a piano while the family gathers around the newborn. He plays the piano and acts far above his age, and is always in formal attire, even when in his pajamas he seems to be a grown up. Jacob Korgan is incredibly well cast, and his cold stare makes his character seem completely devoid of all emotions. The movie plods through its plot sometimes aimlessly wondering around this child’s creepy actions. In one scene Joshua sits emotionless almost intrigued, inches from his television watching old home movies of his years as a baby, his mother screams and cries constantly in the throws of postpartum depression yelling at the camera that she does not want to be taped. In another scene his father, Sam Rockwell, visits his son’s room and sees him cutting his teddy bears nose and then pulling stuffing from the bear. When asked what he was doing Joshua describes a fascination with Egyptians and their burial processes in rather precise detail. These actions are accompanied by a beautifully crafted soundtrack that pulls you into the world as you watch Joshua’s parents slowly go crazy. Joshua is never fully blamed for any action, and the film does not allow you to conclude any accusations that may be leveled against him. This is how the film succeeds. In one scene his mother drops a glass on the floor and Joshua, standing between the broken shards of glass and his mother, simply steps back. His mother then steps forward to touch him and pierces her foot. You can never fully blame the child, but it is easy to be fearful of him. The film seems to never truly reach any conclusions as to the child’s behavior, and that is a positive thing. The negative thing is that the film seems like a series of vignettes. Scene after uneasy scene roles by, each its own five minute story slowly, rolling to a stop by the end.

6 out of 10: well crafted suspense, a little too empty to be riveting