Trauma is a ghost that haunts a young girl in Josephine, the sophomore feature of writer/director Beth de Araújo (Soft & Quiet), which captures a bracing sense of her protagonist’s headspace as she navigates a crisis she can’t possibly be expected to handle.
Both literally and figuratively assuming the perspective of 8-year-old Josephine (Mason Reeves), who strives to comprehend and come to terms with a crime she unwittingly witnesses, this intensely empathetic film—co-starring Channing Tatum and Gemma Chan—has a tendency to tip into strident affectation. But thanks to newcomer Reeves, it still lands more than its fair share of punches.
Josephine’s opening shot is from the POV of its title character as she battles her fears and runs beneath a garage door—at the urging of her competitive soccer-loving father Damien (Tatum)—before it closes. If this minor task is daunting, her subsequent ordeal is far scarier.
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