The time is the present, and the setting is Bainbridge, New Hampshire. But the tragic drama that unfolds could have occurred at almost any time or place. The names of the two families of the Hartes and the Golds have the same ring as the Montagues and the Capulets.
But "The Pact" weaves a far different moral truth than the political struggle of Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet." When young Chris and Emily apparently try to complete a suicide pact, Emily is the only one who dies. The survivor Chris is then subjected to a trial for first-degree murder. A wedge is driven deep into the two families who had been neighbors and "family" for decades.
The most intriguing characters developed in the film were the two sets of parents, Augusta ("Gus") and James Harte versus Melanie ("Mel") and Mitchell Gold. The revelation that slowly dawns on the parents is that the reality of a young woman struggling with depression had complete eluded them.
It is interesting that James Harte is an ophthalmologist, yet he and the three other parents have been blind for years to the realities of Emily's suffering. One of the most dramatic moments was when Mitchell Gold decides to go against the position of his wife to testify on behalf of Chris at the trial.
An essential revelation occurs in lurid detail in Emily's diary when the resentment she felt against both sets of parents emerges and how desperate she had become when she learned that she was pregnant. That was likely the tipping point because she was unable to face her mother with the truth. It is the character of Mel who must carry the greatest burden when she discovers and reads the diary.
The scripting was first-rate, so that the diary never felt like a mechanical plot device. And the performances were uniformly excellent. The director's use of close-ups was especially powerful in this drama that felt real from start to finish. This was an unforgettable domestic tragedy that contains great wisdom and compassion.
But "The Pact" weaves a far different moral truth than the political struggle of Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet." When young Chris and Emily apparently try to complete a suicide pact, Emily is the only one who dies. The survivor Chris is then subjected to a trial for first-degree murder. A wedge is driven deep into the two families who had been neighbors and "family" for decades.
The most intriguing characters developed in the film were the two sets of parents, Augusta ("Gus") and James Harte versus Melanie ("Mel") and Mitchell Gold. The revelation that slowly dawns on the parents is that the reality of a young woman struggling with depression had complete eluded them.
It is interesting that James Harte is an ophthalmologist, yet he and the three other parents have been blind for years to the realities of Emily's suffering. One of the most dramatic moments was when Mitchell Gold decides to go against the position of his wife to testify on behalf of Chris at the trial.
An essential revelation occurs in lurid detail in Emily's diary when the resentment she felt against both sets of parents emerges and how desperate she had become when she learned that she was pregnant. That was likely the tipping point because she was unable to face her mother with the truth. It is the character of Mel who must carry the greatest burden when she discovers and reads the diary.
The scripting was first-rate, so that the diary never felt like a mechanical plot device. And the performances were uniformly excellent. The director's use of close-ups was especially powerful in this drama that felt real from start to finish. This was an unforgettable domestic tragedy that contains great wisdom and compassion.