False Positive
A24From the twisted mind of John Lee, (the man who brought us Pee-wees Big Holiday) comes a feature that wishes to pry at and perturb those who wish to have children. The frustrations of this leading couple who cannot conceive are relieved, initially, by the promise of childbirth and the induction of children. False Positive pairs a strong ensemble together for a romp through the clinical experiences of desperate couples who worry they cannot conceive. Relatively relieved when they realise they can have children, Lucia Martin (Illana Glazer) and Adrian Martin (Justin Theroux) experience the strange variations of scientific insemination. An odd choice for horror, the miracles of modern medicine and childbirth are picked apart with bitter, unfocused criticism by Lee and Glazer’s screenplay.
Some of False Positive’s practical shots and utilisations of mirrors and simple camera framing are nice. Their inclusion adds little, but it does strike as a more opportune way for Lee to show us what he is capable of in the directing chair. Other changes make for ultimately lax or poor changes. Parallels of an optimistic mother-to-hopefully-be in Lucia and the realistic, almost pessimistic approach of her partner, Adrian Martin, are shown through poor fade-outs and cookie-cutter editing. There is love and terror shared equally between the two. Much of the growth of these characters happens in the office of Dr. John Hindle (Pierce Brosnan), and the interluding scenes are primarily to give us breaks from the white walls and clinical professionalism initially prevailing in the four walls of a doctor's office.
Ultimately, False Positive is an adept and conventional adaptation of Rosemary’s Baby and the horror that childbirth may bring. Where the Roman Polanski feature had a message at its heart, there is no such luck for the Lee-directed feature. Featuring some of the best work Brosnan has brought to the screen in some time, False Positive is not without its inspired moments. Its aspirations for a clinical introduction and the inevitable shift in tone are welcoming, but its horror is a let-down. Its build-up is anticipated, but those clear and strange decisions provide lingering comedy or disbelief notes rather than shock and horror. Why Hindle has photos on his wall of happy women with babies is oddly apparent, but still sits uncomfortably.
Much of False Positive is relatively uneasy to witness. This is made possible through the strong casting choices and obvious differences between the first and third acts. At its core, though, Lee can never shake the Polanski influence. He does not lack pacing or styling, but he does struggle somewhat with finding an angle or meaning for the story at hand. This is a couple we know little about, and have no reason to cheer for. We do so because it is the polite choice, and we cannot wish them ill because we know nothing of them. We never do. Lee may be commentating on the tough decisions and adaptations to bearing children, but that never comes true for Lucia. Perhaps it is because False Positive is more concerned with the guts and gore than the power dynamic of its characters. Even then, it shies away from violence to provide the unconvincing argument that it is scarier to hear than see the horrors.