Arnold Schwarzenegger delivers a dialed-down, quietly moving dramatic performance in Maggie, a desaturated American-Gothic indie. The film turns on the idea of a zombie epidemic as a metaphor for end-of-life care: the Schwarzenegger character, salt-of-the-earth farmer Wade, watches as his infected teenage daughter (Abigail Breslin) slowly decomposes and loses her mind, and he must decide when it is time to either end her life himself or have her "quarantined," a euphemism here for government-run euthanasia programs. This is not a perfect film: at times, its ultra-solemn aesthetic feels overdetermined and self-conscious, as if we are being reminded with a firm hand how Very, Very Artistic and Serious the proceedings are. However, the sad-eyed performances ultimately infuse the film's sense of tragic inevitability with emotional authenticity, particularly Schwarzenegger's low-key and highly committed depiction of a man torn between the-world-today pragmatism and his deeply ingrained paternal instinct. There are also standout scenes in which the creepy and the melancholy potently intermix, one involving a forest encounter with an undead father and daughter.

B

Maggie

I've been looking forward to this for a long time now, so I am glad I finally saw it. But the film did not meet my expectations. It's at its strongest when Arnie is on screen, and it's sort of his best performance that I can think of, but that doesn't save what is a tedious wait towards an unspectacular suicide. Maggie doesn't really aim to ask any questions; it literally is just 90 minutes of her demise with scenes of home life and lots of people hugging each other, while at the same time reaffirming that parents are protective of their children (as if we needed a motion picture to tell us that). If you managed to get through the first 75 minutes, then the final 15 minutes delivers something more than the snail's pace bore that precedes it.

To sum up; Arnie, the cinematography, and the dialogue/scenes where Maggie and Wade are sharing some laughs are good, but overall the film is not. It shows that a first-time director was given complete control to produce his vision. He needed guiding. Anyway, it's always nice to see Arnie in different roles, and a zombie film is new territory for him, so I am pleased this film exists.

C

Glacially paced and so serious.

I just wanted to throw out that the film was not at all as advertised. I am ok with it, albeit it is very slow...