Joshua (2007)

The arrival of a newborn girl causes the gradual disintegration of the Cairn family; particularly for 9-year-old Joshua (Kogan), an eccentric boy whose proper upbringing and refined tastes both take a sinister turn.

Director:

George Ratliff

Writers:

David Gilbert, George Ratliff

Stars:

Sam Rockwell, Vera Farmiga, Celia Weston

4 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sam Rockwell	...	Brad Cairn
Vera Farmiga	...	Abby Cairn
Celia Weston	...	Hazel Cairn
Dallas Roberts	...	Ned Davidoff
Michael McKean	...	Chester Jenkins
Jacob Kogan	...	Joshua Cairn
Nancy Giles	...	Betsy Polsheck
Linda Larkin	...	Ms. Danforth
Alex Draper	...	Stewart Slocum
Stephanie Roth Haberle	...	Pediatrician
Ezra Barnes	...	Fred Solomon
Jodie Markell	...	Ruth Solomon
Rufus Collins	...	Henry Abernathy
Haviland Morris	...	Monique Abernathy
Tom Bloom	...	Joe Cairn

Storyline

The Cairn's life seems to be a harmonic family: The father Brad works as a stockbroker, his wife Abby takes care of their common new-born daughter Lily, and the 9-year-old Joshua is high-talented. But the appearances are deceptive. Joshua becomes gradual jealously, that his parents give the baby more attention than him. Therefore he begins to terrorize his family.

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Plot Keywords:

stockbroker | museum | newborn | baby | nervous breakdown | 

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Taglines:

Not all children are innocent.

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Genres:

Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and some disturbing behavior by a child

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official soundtrack site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 September 2007 (Philippines)

Also Known As:

Devil's Child

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$51,233 (USA) (6 July 2007)

Gross:

$478,492 (USA) (3 August 2007)

Company Credits

Production Co:

ATO Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The role of Joshua's young sibling was played by the real-life newborn sibling of Jacob Kogan.

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Goofs

When Brad tries to seduce Abby in their bedroom, the peak meter of the baby monitor indicates that Lily is still screaming on top of her lungs, when she is actually sleeping peacefully.

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Quotes

Brad Cairn: I think you're sick, Josh.
[experimental sniff]
Joshua Cairn: I don't feel sick.
Joshua Cairn: Not at all.

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Connections

References The Lion King (1994)

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Soundtracks

"Piano Sonata No. 12 in A-Flat Major, Op. 26 - Marcia Funebre (Sulla Morte d'un Eroe)"
Written by Ludwig van Beethoven
Performed by Nico Muhly

User Reviews

Strange but not too strange . . .

"Cruel children, crying babies, All grow up as geese and gabies, Hated, as their age increases, By their nephews and their nieces." Robert Louis Stevenson

If you're thinking of starting a family, don't see Joshua. If you think your stockbroker spouse is a stable breadwinner capable of providing you a view of Central Park, don't see Joshua. If you think all your children will be lovable, don't see Joshua.

However, if you want the bejesus scared out of you by a kid so bright he could skip two grades and play Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 12 at recess, director George Ratliff, whose Hell House could have entitled this expert psychological thriller, has fashioned a hell of a cautionary tale about appearances and reality, unlovable kids and their clueless parents. The slow disintegration of an upper-middle class family is so carefully drawn that the first third of the film seems like a walk in the park with a few scrapes from some errant shrubbery. When, however, nine-year old Joshua Cairn (Jacob Kogan) begins missing his parents' affection, displaced to his crybaby newborn sister, strange but not too strange things happen, not easily ascribable to him.

As in most successful thrillers involving miscreant kids, even to the end is a doubt that they could be the source of the growing terror. Although comparisons to The Bad Seed and Rosemary's Baby seem fair, Kogan bears a strong resemblance to Buddy Swan, who played the young Charles Foster Kane with chilling deadpan. Kane's lifelong hang up over being separated from his family is an appropriate allusion to clarify the psychological ramifications in this film.

Although I was quite pleased with the slow exposition, because I think things unravel slowly in privileged families, the payoff ending came too quickly and without the supernatural underpinnings the buildup seemed to promise.

"Modern children were considerably less innocent than parents and the larger society supposed . . . ." David Elkind, Child Psychologist