VIFF 2023: Raging Grace

By Mikaela Asfour

Themes of assimilation, labour exploitation, race, and power pulse at the heart of  Raging Grace, a gripping, award-winning debut feature from Filipino-British writer-director Paris Zarcilla that will play at the Vancouver International Film Festival’s 42nd edition, which runs September 28-October 8, 2023.

This genre-bending thriller centers on unhoused and undocumented Filipina migrant worker Joy Espiritu (Maxine Eigenman), who, despite her nursing certification, can only find work as a housecleaner in the UK. When she lands a high-paying job as a live-in caretaker for Mr. Garrett (David Hayman), an aged, terminally ill aristocrat, it seems like a golden opportunity for Joy to raise the funds she needs to put a roof over the head of her mischievous young daughter Grace (Jaeden Paige Boadilla). Smuggling Grace into the house in a suitcase, Joy must keep her hidden from Katherine (Leanne Best), her uptight employer and Mr. Garrett’s niece, for fear of losing the job. Soon, Joy and Grace discover that the imposing Georgian-era household harbours sinister secrets that threaten to destroy the life they are working so hard to build.

Partially inspired by his childhood memories of accompanying his immigrant mother to her jobs as a cleaner and nanny, Zarcilla combines Gothic horror with a grounded emotional core to explore the horrors and absurdities of the micro- and macroaggressions that migrant domestic workers face so prevalently. An apt commentary on the UK’s hostile environment policy and legacy of imperialism, the film also serves as a love letter to the National Health Service's Filipino frontline workers.

Zarcilla, who wrote the film’s rhythmic, highly calibrated dialogue whilst keeping time with a metronome, playfully introduces jump scares at unexpected moments to provide thrills that are in turns comedic and chilling. Maxine Eigenman embodies these tonal shifts with her expressive and deeply sympathetic performance as Joy, a mother doing her best to care for her daughter while keeping her head down and weathering the indignities of an exploitative job.

Meanwhile, Jaeden Paige Boadilla brings a mischievous charisma to her portrayal of Grace, a boisterous young girl railing against the societal pressures that threaten to invalidate her search for belonging. A delightful menace, Grace steals the spotlight as she exacts revenge on Joy’s entitled and racist employers in this wickedly entertaining “coming-of-rage” narrative.

The film’s tension and suspense are splendidly enhanced by a unique soundscape from composer-sound designer Jon Clarke, incorporating traditional Filipino instruments such as the brassy kulintang and the percussive sound of the Tinikling to underscore the characters’ psychological unravelling and clashing personalities.

The film, winner of the Jury Award for Best Narrative Feature and the Thunderbird Rising Award at SXSW, will screen as part of the Vancouver International Film Festival’s Panorama series, a sprawling array of remarkable narrative films from every corner of the globe.

Raging Grace plays on Friday, Oct. 6 at 6:15 pm at The Rio Theatre, and on Sunday, Oct. 8 at 3:45 p.m. at International Village 9. Tickets at  viff.org