Resurrection Review: Rebecca Hall Delivers Another Fierce Performance In This Disturbing Thriller [Sundance 2022]

Rebecca Hall is one of the best actresses working right now. No matter what the material, Hall appears to throw herself into the role, building a unique, believable character every single time. Blockbusters, indie titles — it doesn't matter. She always delivers. Hall also has a knack for playing solitary women coming completely unmoored — something she did so well in films like "Christine" and "The Night House," and something she does again with "Resurrection," a disturbing little thriller from writer-director Andrew Semans. Just because Hall is playing yet another woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown doesn't mean she's repeating herself, though. No, Hall is so dang talented that she finds ways to distinguish these parts, never going through the motions, always giving the audience a fully realized character that captivates us from start to finish. She's like an athlete at the top of her game.  

In "Resurrection," Hall is Margaret, a single mother working a high-powered job in a sleek, ultra-modern office. When we first meet her, we get the sense that she's stern but not unfeeling as she dishes out words of advice to an employee having relationship troubles. In these first few minutes, we also get the sense that Margaret has her life totally together and that she is not one to stand for bulls**t. She's in the middle of an affair with a married man (Michael Esper). He may want more out of the relationship, but it becomes clear that Margaret is only interested in the sex. At home, Margaret is playful but also highly overprotective of her teen daughter (Grace Kaufman). 

Little by little, cracks begin to appear in Margaret's veneer. Her daughter inexplicably finds a rotting tooth tucked away in her wallet, and that's just for starters. At a work conference, Margaret spots a man (Tim Roth) and has what appears to be a panic attack. The man, David, keeps popping up wherever Margaret goes. At first, she ignores him — even hides from him. But she can't keep doing that forever, and she finally approaches David in a public park. David first gives the impression that he has no idea who she is or what she's talking about, but then almost immediately gives up on that ruse. He does indeed know Margaret, because the two of them have a dark, deranged history. 

More than 20 years ago, when Margaret was just 18, she met the much older David and moved in with him. At first, their relationship was good (despite the large age difference). But little by little, David chipped away at her, locking Margaret in a domineering, highly abusive relationship that included David burning Margaret with cigarettes — and that's child's play compared to some of the other horrific acts Margaret attributes to this man. Roth is terrifying here, playing David as soft-spoken and seemingly rational, but also clearly dangerous and potentially insane. "I know him. I know what he's capable of," Margaret says, later adding that David once claimed he could "hear God whispering his name."