Joshua (2007)

User Rating:

6.0/10   

Director:

George Ratliff

Writers:

David Gilbert (written by) and
George Ratliff (written by)

Release Date:

19 September 2007 (Philippines)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

The story of a perfect boy who had a perfect plan.

Plot:

The arrival of a newborn girl causes the gradual disintegration of the Cairn family; particularly for 9-year-old Joshua (Kogan), an eccentric boy whose proper upbringing and refined tastes both take a sinister turn.

Plot Keywords:

Stockbroker | Baby | Museum | Nervous Breakdown | Eccentric

Awards:

4 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Sam Rockwell	...	Brad Cairn
Vera Farmiga	...	Abby Cairn
Celia Weston	...	Hazel Cairn
Dallas Roberts	...	Ned Davidoff
Michael McKean	...	Chester Jenkins
Jacob Kogan	...	Joshua Cairn
Nancy Giles	...	Betsy Polsheck
Linda Larkin	...	Ms. Danforth
Alex Draper	...	Stewart Slocum
Stephanie Roth Haberle	...	Pediatrician
Ezra Barnes	...	Fred Solomon
Jodie Markell	...	Ruth Solomon
Rufus Collins	...	Henry Abernathy
Haviland Morris	...	Monique Abernathy
Tom Bloom	...	Joe Cairn

Also Known As:

Joshua: The Devil's Child (Australia)

MPAA:

Rated R for language and some disturbing behavior by a child.

Runtime:

106 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Singapore:NC-16 | Germany:16 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A (Alberta/Manitoba/Ontario) | Canada:PG (British Columbia) | USA:R (certificate #43401) | Australia:MA (2007) | Finland:K-15 | Argentina:13 | New Zealand:M | Portugal:M/16 | Netherlands:16 | South Africa:16LV

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company:

ATO Pictures

Trivia:

The role of Joshua's young sibling was played by the real-life newborn sibling of Jacob Kogan.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): The video tape Joshua pulls from the drawer to watch is dated 2/29/1997. 1997 was not a leap year.

Quotes:

Joshua Cairn: I'll give you five dollars if you let me throw a rock at you.

Movie Connections:

References Bronenosets Potyomkin (1925)

Soundtrack:

See the World

This is a really good disturbing little thriller.

Joshua (Jacob Kogan) is a intelligent 9 year-old boy, who starts to feel left out. When his baby sister Lily is born, since it brings joy to his parents Brad (Sam Rockwell) and Abby (Vera Farmiga). When weeks has passed, the baby Lily can't stop crying and especially at nights. Which Abby turns depressing and she trying her best to raise her child. Since her husband works often in the city. Then the parents slowly realized that Joshua is changing and not for the better. Especially when Joshua starts to realized that his parents are not the loving couple, they seems to be and he is planning something sinister for his family.

Directed by George Ratliff made an fascinating creepy little thriller that is well-acted (Especially by Kogan & Farmiga as Joshua's long-suffering mother), well directed and it has some enjoyable suspenseful moments. This is an interesting character study of what it seems to be a happy family that goes terribly wrong. This has good supporting performances by Dallas Roberts as Abby's worried gay brother and Celia Weston as Brad's overly-proud religious mother. I haven't a creepy looking child like Kogan's performance in a long time and he is certainly eerie at times. But the movie does have its problems towards the last 20 minutes, which its raises more questions than answers. But it is one of those movies, you want to see again. It's certainly one of the most underrated films of 2007. Don't miss it. Written by David Gilbert and by the director:Ratliff. (****/*****).