Motherhood is a burden on a mother, mentally and physically. It’s a beauty and an art of its own, a modicum of life that one never wants to take for granted. And that’s a prime undertone of what lies in Nora, the namesake title of the character played by Anna Campell in her directorial debut. The rock music gave her purpose, leading her to a glorious route before motherhood jumped in. Now, she’s trying to settle into the suburban life with her six-year-old daughter Sadie (Sophie Mara Baaden), while her husband Leo (Max Lesser) is away for several weeks to play band. Now, with a house that hasn’t been fully furnished, what is Nora out to accomplish?
Well, it does take a while for this pertinent question to get answered, as the feature does spend a good chunk of the first half dragging with bathetic choices for character and development. There’s no driving desire prevalent for Nora’s character, and Campbell only does a decent job of carrying the character forward. Nora succumbs to more jumpscares than tension revolving around her ambitions.
“Is the dream still alive?” is asked during the halfway point, which seems to be an integral sensation of finally uplifting Nora’s character, wanting to imbue her musical aspirations once more thanks to these fantasies that spring up sporadically throughout the feature. And undoubtedly, the interwoven musical setpieces give this work vibrance and alacrity, a voice missing from Nora’s character as she seeks to break out once more. Unintentionally, it did almost come off as a recurring sensation similar to Joker: Folie a Deux‘s preposterous jarring of tunes every several minutes, but these remain more earnest and obedient to the overall setpiece here. Campell produces a worthwhile composition at the moments that matter the most, selling Nora’s aspirations in opening past her repressions. And the chemistry gradually builds when Nora spends time with her daughter’s teacher, Adam (Nick Fink), particularly in sharing the sensation.
Overall, Nora is a story of warmth and grace, and while it does take a while to stir up, the music keeps it afloat.
Check out the trailer below:
