Starring Sarah Bolger, Lily Cole
Directed by Mary Harron
1/5 Hammers
Considering how much The Moth Diaries has going for it on paper, its a shame the result is such a boring exercise in filmmaking and an example of squandered potential.
Based on the Rachel Klein novel and directed by Canadian Mary Harron (American Psycho), the story begins with Rebecca (Sarah Bolger) attending a girls' boarding school as she copes with the recent suicide of her father. Rebecca's close friendship with Lucie (Sarah Gadon) begins to crack following the arrival of a mysterious new girl named Ernessa, played quite creepily by British model Lily Cole.
The inevitable vampire connection is established early on in a scene involving Scott Speedmans throwaway teacher characters discussion during a literature class.He reminds the students every vampire story has three classic elements death, sex and blood. This movie could have used a lot more of these.
The director does a decent job establishing a gothic mood and using the former hotel-turned-school as a brooding character within the story. The films screenplay, however, opts for a heavy-handed approach reminiscent of Twilight. The acting, while not terrible, by no means elevates the already stale dialogue. Cole is fun to watch as the strange usurper but Bolger and Gadon fail to offer anything compelling.
The main problem with The Moth Diaries is the pacing; for a relatively short movie things move at a glacial pace. Harron said she wanted to capture an atmospheric horror story with real emotional depth but never comes close in either department.
