The Harvest tonally reminds me of an American, more discreet, less graphic version of Audition. The Harvest starts with concerned parents treating a sick boy and mourning grandparents bringing home their granddaughter. The granddaughter discovers the boy when she goes for a walk in the woods behind her house. They become unlikely friends, but this isn’t a CBS Sunday night heartwarming Hallmark movie. The Harvest has more in common with Misery. The Harvest’s cast includes Michael Shannon, and he isn’t the scariest person in the film.
The Harvest’s cast is perfect, but special kudos goes to Natasha Calis who plays the girl next door, and I never felt like she was acting. I was surprised to discover that the same man who directed Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer also directed The Harvest! The two films do not feel similar at all. I would highly recommend The Harvest, but warn viewers that it does not quite fit any genre except possibly an understated mystery thriller.
S
P
O
I
L
E
R
S
The Harvest reminded me of the following riddle: a parent and son are in a car accident. The parent dies, and the doctor can’t operate on the child because he is the doctor’s son. Who was the doctor? I was suspicious of the doctor because she was so controlling and demeaned her husband. Also I kind of thought that she was abusive because who would casually suture the sick boy in the living room and not at least take him to the hospital to make sure his injuries were not more serious than they seemed. I did not expect the basement discovery, but once the girl next door started her Internet investigation, I figured out the twist.
I enjoyed the demented emotional complexity of The Harvest. The father’s concept of who a father is changed because he had an opportunity to feel the emotions of what it was like to be a father by empathizing with and cheering for his victim as he grew up whereas the mother was so invested in her original definition of being a mother so she could become a monster and take care of her son. I did laugh when the girl knocked on the door and visibly jumped back when Shannon appeared by the door.
I think that all adults should have a double feature showing of Oculus and The Harvest to train them not to be dismissive of children when they report abuse. The grandmother sold out her allegiance to her granddaughter by empathizing more with the impending loss and authority of the mother next door. The husbands demurred to their wives even when they knew that the mothers were wrong. The Harvest is very expert at showing the dangers of the default to gender norms and privileging and idealizing motherhood when a child’s welfare is at stake. Nothing is more terrifying than a desperate mother.
The Harvest encourages diverging from gender norms while not abandoning one’s identity. The girl next door takes the traditional role of the prince rescuing the princess, i.e. the sick boy, in the tower from the dragon or the wicked witch, the doctor. She breaks rules, plays baseball, trespasses, climbs and explores. The sick boy is cautious, demure, pleading and vulnerable. Even though she is afraid, she is brave and must wake the princess from a long sleep. She wants him to be powerful too.
The Harvest is an artfully crafted story. There are casual moments that become important and crucial later in the movie. For example, the girl next door makes a scarecrow to protect the sick boy’s corn from crows. The doctor takes it down and puts in a wheelbarrow because she is furious that the girl keeps visiting the sick boy even though she has forbidden it. Later on the girl uses the scarecrow placed in the wheelbarrow to rescue the boy. The Harvest begins and ends with a baseball game. (When the sick boy is free, does his family live nearby or are they gone and do the grandparents decide to adopt him? The Harvest never answers that question.) Also the title of the movie has multiple meanings: the harvest of the corn and organs. The Harvest treats film like literature.