A young violinist unravels her long lost father’s past, triggering dark forces that reach beyond her imagination.
Rutger Hauer, the beloved villain from “Blade Runner,” is featured in his final role in “The Sonata.” During the opening scene, Hauer’s character, the legendarily reclusive musical genius Richard Marlowe, dies. Richard sets himself on fire and then we only see him throughout the film in grainy interview footage and in a dream sequence. Rose Fisher (Freya Tingley) is his estranged daughter who not only inherits his very lavish French mansion but also the rights to all his music. Even the one that eventually killed him.
Rose’s manager, Charles (Simon Abkarian), has no idea that his client was the daughter of a man who’d been on the verge of revolutionizing classical music before he ended his life. Rose goes to France to find out more about what her father was working on before his death.
However, Charles will not allow his only valuable client to go to France alone. He decides to do a little research on his own and becomes obsessed with a secret order that is believed to be able to summon demonic forces by playing the right music. As you can imagine, Rose’s reaction to this discovery is fearful and Charles seems to become possessed by malevolent purpose.
In the supernatural thriller “The Sonata,” we find first-time feature film director Andrew Desmond bringing a lot of confidence even though the plot is average at best. While the film has the classic gothic backdrop, it still finds a way to keep the audience’s attention. The movie takes the form of a spooky mystery, as Rose talks to the skittish locals about her dad and begins to fear his art was bound up with something demonic.
While the overall tone of the film is fine, there were a few things that could have made the movie a little stronger. Perhaps stronger conversations, scarier set-pieces, or perhaps a stronger emotional connection for the audience. However, the simplicity of the film works because Rose picks up her instrument and plays Marlowe’s last notes. As the music and the mayhem intensify, the movie raises unsettling questions about the lengths some creators will go.
Now playing in select theaters and On-Demand
