The Moth Diaries (film)

Did You Know?

• The film was shown Out of Competition at the 68th Venice International Film Festival.
• IFC Films released The Moth Diaries on Blu-ray in North America on 28 August 2012.
• The film was an international co-production between Canada and Ireland, co-produced by Samson Films and Mediamax.

Plot

At the Brangwyn School, a boarding school for girls, 16-year-old Rebecca Cantor writes in her diary. Two years earlier, her father, a poet, died by suicide, and her mother sent her to the school to escape the memory. With her best friend and roommate Lucy Blake, Rebecca recovers. The next year, a mysterious dark-haired girl named Ernessa Bloch arrives.

Lucy quickly becomes close with Ernessa and grows distant from Rebecca, who feels uneasy. Rebecca tries to confront Lucy, but Lucy dismisses her concerns as jealousy. A hallmate, Charley, is expelled after throwing a chair through a window while on drugs provided by Ernessa at a party. Another friend, Dora, falls from the roof after she and Rebecca peek into Ernessa's room and see only moths.

A teacher who was harsh on Ernessa is found murdered in the woods. Rebecca sees Ernessa walk through a closed window and linger near a forbidden basement. She notices similarities between Ernessa and Carmilla while reading the story for class. Rebecca's friends die, leave, or abandon her.

She turns to Mr. Davies, a new English teacher who admires her father's poetry. He tells her vampires drain life rather than drink blood. After confiding in him, they kiss, but Rebecca pulls away. She finds Lucy naked in bed with Ernessa, crying out.

Lucy is hospitalized after refusing food, and only Rebecca blames Ernessa. Lucy pushes Rebecca away, saying their friendship is ruined. Rebecca wakes one night to find Lucy gone and sees her rise into the air with Ernessa before they turn into moths and disappear. Lucy dies soon after.

Production

Director Mary Harron originally planned to set the film in the 1970s, the era of the novel, but could not license the rights to several songs from that decade. She chose a contemporary setting instead, noting that the school's world felt timeless and that she had already made three period films. Harron was drawn to the novel because of its platonic female romance, which she felt was rarely represented; she wanted the primary emotional focus to be on a girl's love and devotion for another girl, though she said the film is not simply a lesbian film.

The supernatural element served as a vehicle for that story. The film was an international co-production between Canada and Ireland, with Edward R. Pressman as executive producer. Casting began in March 2009; Lily Cole and Scott Speedman were announced in September 2010, along with Sarah Bolger and Sarah Gadon. Principal photography took place in Montreal from 31 August 2010 to 9 October 2010.

Reception

The Moth Diaries earned $413,035 worldwide and received primarily negative reviews. Neil Young of The Hollywood Reporter criticized the lack of narrative suspense, calling the film about as scary as the moths in its title. Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly gave it a C rating, writing that it defeats Harron's talent for exploring darkness. Linda Barnard of the Toronto Star found the storytelling inconsistent, noting that Harron seemed to hold back except for one impactful fantasy scene of raining blood.

Jeanette Catsoulis of The New York Times wrote favorably, saying the film dances between hallucination and reality and that its narrative frailties are offset by performances and an eerie tone. Stephanie Zacharek of Movieline praised the visuals and atmosphere, awarding it seven out of ten. Richard Corliss of Time lauded the atmosphere but said Harron gets the superficial ambiance right while sucking the psychic juice out of the tale, leaving only pulp.