LAMB: An Engrossingly Dangerous Tale

It’s impossible to discuss Lamb without being honest about its premise, so let’s start by ripping off the Band-Aid, shall we? Lamb is about a middle-aged man kidnapping an eleven-year old girl. It’s neither exploitative nor overtly horrifying, but its central relationship is inescapably unsettling.

While your taste for provocative cinema should be weighed before watching this film, understand that Lamb will push you in a low-key way. It’s not as abrasive as Lars von Trier nor as tempestuous as Darren Aronofsky, and its content has nothing on Gaspar Noé. Writer, director, and star Ross Partridge took his cue from the novel on which the film is based (also called Lamb) and kept the film small and personal. What will bother you is how much moral grey area there is to find in this story and how deftly you get persuaded by both character’s justifications.

A Relationship That’s Easier Unseen

The first time that David (Partridge) puts Tommie (Oona Laurence) in his car, it’s simply to teach her a lesson. Her ‘friends’ had dared her to ask him for a cigarette, and as this occurred during the mentally foggy hours just after burying his father, David thought that simulating a kidnapping would be the perfect way to show Tommie just how cruel her mates were being. He immediately takes her home, and when none of the other girls even bother to check up on her, Tommie gets the message.

This sets the stage for all of their future interactions, with David acting as the wise old guide to Tommie’s expanding world. It’s roles they both need at the moment, and it’s this desire, not anything sexual, that drives their relationship forward.

Still, the whole thing feels smarmy, with David smooth-talking his way through the road blocks they both put up. The story draws interesting parallels between David’s manipulations of Tommie and his twenty-something girlfriend, and the way he gets them both to puts their needs on hold for his own is inexcusable.

However, the more obvious character faults of David are not what makes Lamb so difficult. What’s difficult is that both David and Tommie have valid reasons to engage in the relationship, and the film makes it clear that both weigh their options and choose to proceed. It’s a testament to both Partridge and Laurence that the complexity of the situation is communicated so well to the audience, and that puts anyone watching it in a very difficult spot. Moral grey areas are hard enough to suss out, and when a wrong move could result in the emotional devastation of a child, then good luck making snap judgements about anything.

A Jerky Ride

Of course, storytelling has been going on for so long that even this relationship has been seen before. What’s more rare, and what Lamb really excels at, is putting its audience right in the thick of it as it goes down. Very little time is spent outside of David and Tommie’s interactions, and every minute of the film exists to capture or comment on their dynamics. It’s an intense focus, and Partridge crafts it into an uncomfortably palpable one.

The book relied on dialogue – heavy passages to get across David’s way with words, and Partridge smartly stages these conversations rather simply. Many take place in mundane areas like parking lots and highway shoulders, and to hear David wax poetic about their future life while surrounded by such banality sucks you into his words. Nothing on screen is engaging you, and that’s intentional, because it allows your brain to fill with the flights of fancy he goes on. Suddenly, you are right there with these two, and there’s a part of you that starts thinking it might not turn out so bad.

Many people find it difficult to comprehend that these dynamics exist, and Lamb makes you not only look at them, but feel them. All human interaction is rife with manipulation, whether we admit it or not. Here, David is convincing himself as much as he is Tommie, because he knows just how dangerous the situation is for both of them. The audience does too, and watching the film becomes a moment-by-moment battle between two very different forces: the alarm bells in your head and David’s soothing words.

The Ends Must Justify the Means

While Lamb is far from the most disturbing cinematic experience you can have, it’s still challenging enough to expect some sort of reward for having endured it. Perhaps some pitch-black comedy like in Nymphomaniac or the thrilling flip-flop of allegiances in Hard Candy, but Lamb focuses so intensely on capturing these two characters’ relationship that it offers up little else to its audience.

There are ways to make the relationship alone satisfying, but Lamb is either unwilling or unable to do so. Instead of building to a viewpoint or some singular takeaway, the film ends on a confusing and somewhat unearned moment. When the screen goes black, it’s hard not to sit there wondering why you just experienced all of this.

I had the same problem with the book, so it’s unfair to lay the blame entirely on Partridge’s shoulders. Still, the film adaptation was a chance to get someone else’s perspective on the material, and it seems that not much perspective was brought. Without that, it’s hard for this story not to feel a bit flat.

Conclusion

Considering that Partridge is primarily an actor and not a writer or director, it’s impressive that he was able to adapt such difficult material so solidly. He was clearly very deferential to the source material, and he used visual tricks to capture the mood of the book astonishingly well. He and Laurence commit to every moment that passes between their characters, which culminates in a film that is wholly engrossing.

And yet, it’s hard not to see this as a bit of a missed opportunity. A more experienced team may have been able to find something truly special to this story. With the exception of toning down some of the more difficult moments, Partridge didn’t bring anything new to the table, leaving Lamb as little more than a carbon copy of the book’s successes and failures.

Do you demand that a challenging story deliver something special for you to take it on? Let us know in the comments!

Lamb is out now through video on demand and streaming services in the U.S. and the U.K. No other release dates are currently scheduled.