Strange But True is a 2019 thriller about a woman who surprises the family of her deceased boyfriend by telling them she’s pregnant with his child.
When he gets a knock on the door, Philip (Nick Robinson), who has come back from the city to stay at home after a bike accident left him with a broken leg, is surprised at who it is. She’s Melissa Moody (Margaret Qualley) of all people, the former girlfriend of Philip’s older brother Ronnie (Connor Jessup), who died five years ago, something she holds some guilt for. Thing is, she’s pregnant and that’s not the real bombshell. It’s that she claims it’s Ronnie’s baby. How can that be? She’s says it’s a miracle, something a local psychic says is true but Ronnie’s mother Charlene (Amy Ryan) refuses to believe. The truth though, is stranger than fiction.
The best thing going in Rowan Athale‘s latest thriller is clearly Qualley, even as she’s surrounded by great work from the rest of the cast, the young actress delivering a hypnotic turn that is almost effortlessly inviting. The story is a curious one, decidedly different, and it takes an actor with Qualley’s appeal and confidence to pull it all off. And this is a movie that features some very high caliber names, including Greg Kinnear, Blythe Danner and Brian Cox. How can you go wrong?
The movie is an adaptation of John Searles’ 2002 novel of the same name and begins like so many others nowadays, where we are witness to something traumatic before rewinding to the past leading back up to it. What follows is a mystery of sorts held together mostly by its stellar cast. Athale is no slouch in building up palpable moments and works hard to wrap this drama into something more fraught with tension than it feels necessary. However, it comes at a cost as the story doesn’t really have the pulp in the mix to make it as juicy as it wants to be.
There is a looming tragedy at its heart, a truly heartbreaking one, and as a source for a devastating family story, is plenty already in making this something worth a watch, but the threads begin to fray when it backs itself into corners and then must cling to standards in getting us to the end. This includes the plotting back to the first scene where all the conventions of the genre make appearances, leaving behind the good start at wonder it begins with. Logic is strung around an outcome rather than being better explored.
Either way, there is lots about Strange But True that work well, with some good ideas that trigger a few moments of tension and mystery. Athale’s sophomore effort is a good looking and well-acted film that might hit a few with some late surprises, made all the more watchable with Qualley and others digging in for the big sell. While it can’t earn or sustain its fireworks in your face ending, this is still a decent thriller that at least swings for the fences in doing something new.