I Do Harm

A dying father is taken care of by his son and his daughter, but when the old man’s daughter will come back home to bring medicine the past will come to life and issues that used to be under control will escalate like demons breaking free from under a spell. Under the apparently common simple story, Jonathon Green hides very deep meanings in his film. It’s a game of anticipation, attention, imagination and understanding to read Jonathon Green’s story.

The first thing that draws attention is that between each of the four characters there seems to be a communication breakdown. The returning daughter (and sister at the same time) is a person that has detached herself from the family for a long time. The son is a man that seems to be highly fond of his old man but with strange habits (a few clues here are the way and the place where he makes fire, and at least one gesture he has with his young daughter), and the young daughter is… a mystery.

However the pills the old man takes for his disease turn to be placebo, a thing that every one seems to know but not accept, which turns the returning of the ‘lost-daughter-sister’ in an event of reconciliation rather than one of saving the day. The last gesture of reconciliation however will come from the old father which will actually help him accomplish his last mission: make up with his daughter and achieve his peace. But his death will mark the neutralisation of the balance in the family, the balance between insanity and old mistakes, between the incarcerated past and the still insane reality. Surprisingly, the young daughter will save the day proving to be the results of old mistakes and the purifier from the liberated ‘demons’ at the same time. When ‘balance’ falls out offering the supreme reason to purify the demons, a mother and a daughter will eventually find their escape.

‘I Do Harm’ is a riddle of senses and happenings that director Jonathon Green will lead his public through. Everything is done with minimal clues and a considerably amount of experience is needed to unravel every inch of the riddle’s senses. It is a delight to watch his film and try to puzzle it out.

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