Esther Woodhouse (a nod to ROSEMARY'S BABY?) gets an ultrasound of her baby, but doesn't seem too thrilled about the impending birth. On the way home she's knocked unconscious by a mugger, who beats her abdomen with a brick. She's rushed to the emergency room and loses the baby. A detective visits her, then a social worker, who recommends that she goes to a support group for her loss, because she has no family or friends to turn to. It's there that she meets Anika (Kristina Klebe), another woman who lost her child and son to a drunk driver. Esther feels that there is a connection. When Anika doesn't show up at the next session she's depressed--and later sees her shopping--and frantically looking for her son. Is she crazy? Esther follows her--and sees her get her very much alive son out of the minivan. Soon, she meets with Anika, who proceeds to lie to her. And Esther doesn't reveal that she knows the truth of her "fantasy" about being childless.
We find out that Esther has a red-headed lesbian lover, who is jealous of Anika, though she insists she's just a friend. Finally, she confronts her about pretending her son is dead and Anika denies this, calling her crazy. Esther snaps. She steals the red-head's pickup truck and drives to Anika's house, where she breaks in and does something horrible--she drowns the woman's son in the bathtub. Then the husband shoots and kills Esther with a shot-gun.
At this point the movie is halfway over--and the focus shifts to how Anika and her traumatized husband deal with the murder of their son. He starts going to support meetings and discovers that his wife has been going to them for years, which puzzles him.
PROXY is a very unpleasant movie--but it's well done, and, more importantly, it's unpredictable. Recommended. Directed by Zack Parker.
Esther Woodhouse (a nod to ROSEMARY'S BABY?) gets an ultrasound of her baby, but doesn't seem too thrilled about the impending birth. On the way home she's knocked unconscious by a mugger, who beats her abdomen with a brick. She's rushed to the emergency room and loses the baby. A detective visits her, then a social worker, who recommends that she goes to a support group for her loss, because she has no family or friends to turn to. It's there that she meets Anika (Kristina Klebe), another woman who lost her child and son to a drunk driver. Esther feels that there is a connection. When Anika doesn't show up at the next session she's depressed--and later sees her shopping--and frantically looking for her son. Is she crazy? Esther follows her--and sees her get her very much alive son out of the minivan. Soon, she meets with Anika, who proceeds to lie to her. And Esther doesn't reveal that she knows the truth of her "fantasy" about being childless.
