Winner of Best Film at the 2021 Galway Film Fleadh, Here Before is now on general release, and is a great example of the small, intimate, thrillers Irish writers, directors, and actors can produce really well.
The always brilliant Andrea Riseborough plays Laura, a young mum in Antrim who lives with her husband and teenage son. We quickly learn she lost a little girl, Josie, in a road accident a few years ago, but the family seem to be doing OK, all things considered.
A new family moves in next-door with a little girl named Megan, who would be the same age as Josie. Megan gravitates to Laura and appears to have a connection with her. Several times she mentions having been there before or enjoying something Josie would have enjoyed. Laura starts to wonder if she is her reincarnated daughter.
Riseborough brings a brilliant, manic, energy to Laura that is visible despite her calm exterior. She has always been an intriguing performer and is given a lot to work with here.
There is a moment, at the beginning of the third act, where we slip into a montage. At that point, the film goes from good to great. Up until then it is a purposefully slow build, but from then on Laura really believes that Megan is Josie and the lack of support from her husband and son (including a fair amount of gaslighting ) sets up the final act.
Here Before is a beautifully made film by first time feature director Stacey Gregg. The film is framed through uncomfortable angles, with a lot of duplicity on screen, Laura and Megan’s houses are attached and mirror each other exactly.
It is easy to compare Here Before to great pedophobic thrillers like The Babadook or Don’t Look Now, but the film has perhaps more in common with the genre bending thriller/horror Make Up (sadly not on streaming but would make a great double bill with this ).
In Ireland (in this case Northern Ireland ) we do not have massive budgets for films, but we have terrific actors and writers. This is a great example of the small, intimate, thrillers we can produce really well.
