Bad Behaviour

Bad Behaviour

“Hope is a futile endeavor.” These words are scrawled on a whiteboard by Lucy (Jennifer Connelly) during her stay at a “semi-silent retreat”. The atmosphere of the retreat is anything but calm. Lucy herself is tense and angry which kind of defeats the entire purpose of going to a retreat in the first place. She’s deep into self-help, as evidenced by the motivational tapes she plays in her car and the fact that she even came to this thing. It does not seem to be doing much for her.

“Never give in to hope” sounds pretty bleak, but later we learn that she’s actually quoting this event’s guru, a cheerful kook named Elon Bello (Ben Whishaw). Maybe Lucy is attempting to visualize herself into Elon’s charmed circle of blissed-out enlightenment? Or perhaps she’s dubious. Maybe she wants to be chosen as Elon’s favorite and quotes him as an attempt at extra credit. It’s hard to say.

It’s hard to say many things about Alice Englert’s “Bad Behavior”. The script, which was also written by Englert, ambitiously tackles the fraught relationship between a mother and daughter who are very much alike yet divided by mistrust and old wounds. The story alternates between scenes featuring Lucy at the retreat and those showing Dylan (Englert again), Lucy’s daughter working as a stuntwoman on location in New Zealand.

This was supposed to be two narratives woven together, but there isn’t really any competition: Lucy’s story is so much more compelling than Dylan’s that whenever it cuts away from Connelly’s steely presence mainly giggly fun-loving Dylan crushing on another stuntman while avoiding mom’s calls everything deflates like a balloon with its knot untied. When Dylan finally takes center stage midway through Act Two everything feels like it’s too late.

The guts of Bad Behavior belong solely to Lucy, who’s once again played by Jennifer Connelly only this time it seems like she got lucky enough catch her best break since. A Beautiful Mind or maybe ever because Lucys just about all prickly defenses were corners angles other people clock they immediately know are not one them three younger women interrogate their dead eyes looking tell have no interest getting know definitely respect elder life experience means nothing demanding role looks constant rage inside out beyond itself Dasha Nekrasova plays narcissistic Beverly lazily satisfied saying what Elon wants bored indifference quickly becomes Elons favorite laughs pleasure tells just follow already can show them triggered way grip starts deteriorate once begins stop.

How can Dylan’s laughter and skipping, cartwheeling down the hall and scrolling through her phone, compare to Lucy’s breakdown? They don’t. The mother-daughter relationship is supposed to be at the center or at least the idea of it but by the time Lucy and Dylan are reunited, it’s hard to see how we got there. Something just doesn’t add up. Every scene with Lucy reveals a little more while every scene with Dylan just sits there on screen, a flat wall revealing nothing.

“Bad Behaviour” is frustrating to watch. Englert does not wrestle with the material so much as struggle against it in search of a consistent tone. The retreat is rich ground for mockery; in fact, the retreat begs for mockery (perhaps not quite to “Semi-Tough” levels, but close). The guru’s name is Elon for God’s sake! It’s a semi-silent retreat.

The retreat can’t even fully commit to silence! This is very funny, but nothing comes of it. Maybe this humor is unintentional? Beyond a couple glimpses of Elon not practicing what he preaches, neither the retreat nor the desires underpinning such ventures are interrogated. There isn’t a real point of view in operation here. That gives the film an effect that feels muffled and inert.

The only game in town here is Connelly’s masterful portrayal of a woman coming apart at the seams who has gone beyond every pale there is and thrown off every restraint of her lifetime. It was nice to see Connelly playing prickly unfriendly women who were defensive but very smart: Her eyes are sharp; she doesn’t look at people so much as size them up. Her performance is captivating and deserves better than this more focused movie.

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