Ma

Ma follows several teenagers (including Diana Silvers’ Maggie and McKaley Miller’s Haley) as they befriend a local woman (Octavia Spencer’s Sue Ann) and begin partying in her basement, with things slowly-but-surely taking a sinister turn as it becomes increasingly clear that Sue Ann’s motives aren’t exactly altruistic. Filmmaker Tate Taylor, working from Scotty Landes’ screenplay, does an effective job of initially luring the viewer into the deliberately-paced proceedings, as Ma boasts a compelling first half that generally plays more like a drama than a thriller and benefits from a surfeit of better-than-expected performances – with Spencer’s compelling turn as an exceedingly lonely and damaged individual perpetuating the picture’s intriguing feel (and, eventually, keeping things relatively interesting even through the narrative’s less-than-engrossing stretches). It’s distressing to note, than, that a repetitive midsection, which seems to consist mostly of scenes in which the teens party while Sue Ann looks on with menacing intent, paves the way for a progressively uninvolving midsection, and it’s clear, too, that the movie’s downfall is triggered by Taylor’s ongoing reluctance to take things in an appropriately over-the-top, larger-than-life direction (ie given the subject matter, Taylor’s predominantly subdued approach to the material is somewhat baffling, to say the least). By the time the almost incongruously violent finale rolls around, Ma has confirmed its place as a missed opportunity that’s palpably (and disappointingly) squandered its massive potential.

** out of ****

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