When entering into marriage, couples must listen to the wishes of their partner, make concessions, act contrary to their principles, and even sacrifice their dreams.
Usually these efforts are for the benefit of the couple, but not this time …
Plot
Young girl Katherine Claire, together with her husband George and little daughter Frannie, decides to move to a small town far from New York, because her husband was offered a good job. They bought a house and have already begun to get used to it. Everything was fine until strange things started to happen…
Katherine notices that there are ghosts in the house that haunt her at night. Looking around the house, she finds an old Bible. It contains a list of the former deceased owners of the house. Most of the dead are wives who were killed by their “cursed” husbands in a fit of rage. Strange sounds, the constant flashing of a night light and the smell of gasoline from the garage scare mother and daughter. Katherine decides to find out more about the house.
George knew all about this sinister place, but he tried to hide the story from his wife. The mistress and the split personality of the spouse are about to destroy the family. At the same time, trying to “kill two birds with one stone”, the heroine wants to reveal the secret and save the marriage. After a while, it becomes clear that the ghosts did not frighten the new tenants. And the children of the neighborhood did not just help the newcomers – they tried to help “dodge” the sad end.
It turns out that the husband is a scoundrel and a scoundrel. In addition to betrayal, he still has many “secrets” that he does not want to talk about. Katherine decides to run away with her daughter, but George loses control. Having already committed more than one murder, he soon kills his wife. Thus, without violating the laws of the curse.
The meaning of the film
At first glance, the meaning of the film is quite clear: “he who must be punished will definitely receive his punishment: in physical or spiritual form!”.
But if you think a little more, the theme of feminism is revealed here. The story focuses on women who fight for domestic violence (or in principle for violence from the opposite sex).
Director Robert Pulcini explains that the last scene where George goes to hell marks the victory of all the dead wives over the curse. The spirits of the women, having gained strength, avenged the evil done to them.
Characteristics of heroes
The main character (Catherine Clare) was played by American actress Amanda Seyfried. Katherine is a positive character. She is a kind and caring mother. Possesses spiritual abilities, or rather a gift. She knows how to communicate with spirits and wants to understand the secret of the enchanted place. But her husband was against all this.
George’s wife was played by James Norton. At first, George seemed like a good family man, but later the opinion about him changes dramatically. We learn about his sins. Murders, lies, betrayals and fraud ruin his good image. Later, he kills his wife in a fit of rage.
George’s new boss, Floyd De Beers, was played by F. Murray Abraham. He trusted his comrade until he betrayed him. Ella’s sons Eddie Wyle and Cole Wyle were played by Alex Neustadter and Jack Gore. The wife’s friend Justine was played by actress Ray Seehorn. All these secondary roles led the plot to its logical conclusion, each of them is important.
It is worth noting that the script was written based on the book “All Things Stop Appearing” by Elizabeth Brundage, directors Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini filmed the novel.
reminiscences
In the movie (at the very beginning) George gives a book to his boss Floyd called Heaven and its wonders and hell of things seen and heard. The title of the film is taken from here. Regarding the religious views of the author of this book (Emanuel Swedenborg), Floyd spoke as follows: “… good people attract bright spirits, and bad people attract evil ones.” This quote is a reference to the images and tasks of the main characters.
The very last scene, where George is on a yacht in front of the gates to Hell, is a reminiscence of George Inness’ painting Valley of the Shadows of Death.
There are many references and details in the film, they are very appropriate, as it becomes more interesting to watch the film.
Conclusion
The film “Seen and Heard” has a very deep meaning, despite its genre. Love, hope, fear and anger can control a person, but only faith will lead to the right path.
The authors give the opportunity to think about what exactly this story is about. Maybe about the relationship of spouses, maybe about the clergy, or maybe they just wanted to scare us and tickle our nerves. Everyone finds their own meaning and sees the ending in their own way. But the fact remains that good triumphs over evil.
