Fantasia Fest 2021: ‘The Righteous’ tests limits of faith, grief, and past sins

Grief grips you and never lets you go. In Mark O’Brien’s The Righteous, his directorial feature debut, the pain of losing a child ignites a story about faith, past sins, and finding redemption in utter ruin. Shot in black and white, the film, in which O’Brien also stars, alongside fellow Ready or Not alum Henry Czerny, intertwines elements of a psycho-drama and thriller, roasting slowly over an open flame. It’s an intimate affair and often unravels in small increments, driven by heavy sequences of dialogue.

Frederic (Czerny) and his wife Ethel (Mimi Kuzyk) struggle to pick up the pieces after the tragic death of their adopted daughter Joanie. Their sorrow is suffocating. It’s not the first tragedy to befall either one of them, yet it burns red-hot down to their souls. Ethel busies herself with housework, often returning to Joanie’s room to cry, and Frederic spirals further into his quest for answers from a higher power. “Nothing ends as long as you stay on God’s path,” a priest tells him following the funeral. An ex-priest himself, Frederic’s confrontation with religion lies at the core of his entire existence, and he’s never fully come to terms with any of it. The things which have happened, and the terrible things he might have done in his youth, never stay dead. With Joanie’s biological mother Doris (Kate Corbett) also having a tough go of it, a perfect storm seems to be brewing on the horizon.

Once night falls, a stranger named Aaron (O’Brien) stumbles onto their property, visibly injured and begging for help. Frederic and Ethel both express reservations in inviting him into their home, even if for one night — but they extend a bit of compassion when they find him passed out on the lawn. One night turns into two, and before you know it, Aaron becomes a part of the household. For her role, Ethel clutches onto Aaron, finding glimpses of the youthful charm and vivacity Joanie once possessed, and, more than anything, hope in something after the storm. Frederic seems to have taken a liking to Aaron, as well, and the two share a many private conversations.

O’Brien keeps you guessing for a sizable chunk of the film, and you begin wondering if the horror lies simply in the real-life tumult of death and the afterlife, or if something far more disturbing is percolating just below the surface. When the second shoe does finally drop, it’s a doozy — leading into an avalanche of unexpected reveals that will have you gasping for breath. It’s hard to discuss the film’s second half in concrete terms, as several key moments would spoil the meat of the plot. The Righteous is best served with little prior knowledge other than one family tormented by the death of their child and nothing more. From the stylized shot composition to O’Brien’s truly mesmerizing performance, the film is like taking an anvil directly to the chest.

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