A new twist on an old premise for a movie can go a long way, and The Vile – directed by Majid Al-Ansari -- is evidence of that. The cultural flavorings in this thriller help elevate the plot as it navigates some old tropes.
This film is set in an Arab Gulf state and stars Bdoor Mohammed as Amani. Not time is wasted as the core premise kicks in right away. Amani’s husband, Khalid, suddenly brings a new wife home, which makes Amani distraught.
Bdoor Mohammed is fantastic in her role. She’s able to shift emotional gears in her performance quickly and in a believable way. The betrayal and pain she feels in Khalid finding a new wife are evident in her performance. This is balanced with quieter moments, as Amani must still be a mom for her teenage daughter, Noor.
Polygamy is an aspect of culture in many Arab countries, of which Westerners are aware, but have little context for the custom when it comes to the actual dynamics of the relationship.
Amani makes it clear that she is against Khalid’s new wife, Zahra, being in the house. Khalid stands by his actions because he’s desperate to have a son and implies Amani isn’t able to birth one. It’s similar to seeing a clash of old ideologies versus new: a woman trying to assert her role as matriarch, while the father endangers the stability of his marriage because he wants a male heir.
Despite those unique elements, there are still a handful of thriller tropes that the plot falls into. Zahra is essentially the “stranger in the house,” the newcomer who seems nice at first but slowly becomes more sinister as supernatural happenings start to occur. Another common scene is when Amani gets a background check on Zahra, which comes back clean except for the fact that she was married before, but the fate of that family is left ambiguous.
The cliche scenes that end up working are the ones in which Amani experiences unsettling hallucinations that are seemingly caused by Zahra’s presence. There are genuinely creepy moments in those scenes, and they’re also made better by Mohammed’s performance.
While the supernatural elements that are borrowed from other movies are a tad disappointing, their execution still shows creative flair. Thankfully, those elements don’t bog down the grounded aspects of the themes at work. The core of Amani’s struggles in the film comes down to how much she’s willing to fight for her daughter and realizing that her version of the ideal family has to die, so that she can salvage what’s most important.
The ending does a decent job of delivering its moral lesson, even if it’s heavy-handed, while producing a satisfying conclusion to the story. Nothing mind-blowing, but it doesn’t undermine the plot or Amani’s character arc.
While I was hoping that The Vile had an overall plot that was as creative as its opening premise, I wouldn’t say I was disappointed by the end. It’s a unique, solid thriller with performances that keep it from feeling cheesy.
Author Bio:
Ulises Duenas is a senior writer and film critic at Highbrow Magazine.
For Highbrow Magazine