Goliath

Family looms large over our lives like a giant. In Luke Villemaire’s Goliath, resentments and secrets emerge at a patriarch’s funeral that threatens to shatter the fragile threads between siblings and their mother – in a morose and considerate reflection on reconciliation.

Following the death of her father, Robin Walker (Jessica Sipos) returns to her hometown for his funeral. Desperate to escape during her youth, the town holds painful memories for Robin, who has failed to find the life she fled for. Her mother Dianne (Andrea Roth) and brother Garrett (Jon Cor) are there to welcome her, but estranged sister Violet (Michelle Mylett) intends to miss proceedings, angry at her family’s abandonment during their father’s illness. Each of the siblings confront the unspoken divides between them – but a shocking family secret remains unspoken that threatens to tear them apart.

Goliath is a stylish and emotional drama that explores complex themes around longing, resentment and revisiting one’s past to understand the present. Its exploration of its characters is its biggest strength – their development throughout the build-up to the funeral feeling authentic and understandable. It eschews needless sentimentality in favour of real, troubled siblings whose relationships do not follow a straight line. Robin makes a breakthrough with vengeful sister Violet which leads them to an outing together with brother Garrett and his boyfriend Parker (Daniel Maslany) – only for Robin’s drinking to unearth old resentments surrounding their dad amongst the three of them. Villemaire’s story shows that deep-lying family troubles can’t be resolved by gushy, soap-opera-like exchanges.

Whilst the events of the present are engaging, it does feel the backgrounds of the characters a little hollow. Seeing as how Robin and Garrett’s exodus from their hometown is what leads to so much of the strife within the family, and that Violet’s caring for their father is what drives her resentment, we don’t get much of a sense as to what drove each of the siblings to take the actions they did. Robin’s failing career and relationship is spoken of but more could have been done to explain her motivations for moving away in the first place. Similarly, hints are given to Garrett’s bitterness at his father’s failure to accept his sexuality, but more could have been done to establish the anger this created against the rest of his family for looking past this.

Jessica Sipos does an admirable job as the film’s lead. She carries a sense within her performance of a woman who cannot find comfort in either her present or her past, and her expressions in scenes where she confronts the family’s demons show that Robin can’t find purpose whilst old wounds remain undressed. However, a key confrontation in the film’s ending scenes fails to match the energy or emotion – particularly given the shocking twist nature of the revelation. Michelle Mylett as the more chaotic and hurting Violet is another highlight, and delivers a character that avoids being pigeon-holed into the hot mess stereotype she so easily could have. There is some clunky dialogue throughout that the cast occasionally stumble with – particularly given the amount of exposition – but for the large part the family interactions are believable and authentic.

Goliath doesn’t quite match up with the giants of family drama, but it is a very solid and thoughtful film that projects a moving message that divisions in families can’t be run away from.