Written and directed by Julia Kowalski, Nawojka, 20, dreams of escaping her harsh life working at the family farm. Under the influence of the free-spirited Sandra, Naw experiences trance-like episodes and strange powers, just like her dead mother before her. Starring: Maria Wróbel, Roxane Mesquida, Wojciech Skibiński, Kuba Dyniewicz, Przemysław Przestrzelski and Raphaël Thiéry.
Immediately as you jump into Her Will Be Done, you’re met with these fantastic, curious, mysterious and contemplative shots which set a wonderful tone. However, as the film quickly moves on, that tone sadly fades away. Mostly, as it then dives into a traditional patriarchal world, where a family without their matriarch treats their only daughter as a surrogate mother. It’s classic misogyny, expecting her to do the cooking and cleaning, to have little to no opinion of her own, and no hopes or dreams outside of serving the men, and simultaneously treating her as a child and a caretaker. It’s all very familiar and relatively depressing, but Julia Kowalski does try to switch things up by adding in a supernaturally driven body horror angle.
The interesting thing about that choice is that it feels very of the 1980s, and had Her Will Be Done been made in that era it would likely have been an excellent and revelatory film but unfortunately, it doesn’t have that kind of impact today. Part of that is that the majority of the story is overtly familiar, the other is that the horror element feels distinctly underexplained. It’s vague, sparse and often confusing, it takes being mysterious a little too far, and leaves you completely unsure of what it’s trying to say or be.
Another part of that is the way that the story progresses, it’s a great deal of buildup for not a lot of payoff. It can feel heavy handed, old-fashioned and slow, which is a shame as it does also feel as though there’s an interesting idea in there somewhere, but it didn’t get a chance to break out of its shell. Even more of a shame because the visual is ticking some great boxes, it leans into that rural setting, it’s understated yet intriguing. Kowalski’s aesthetic is opening up all sorts of opportunity for bigger mystery and mayhem, but they never truly arrive.
Her Will Be Done had plenty of potential, but the end result simply feels too familiar. Its mystery is overly aloof, and its drama is well-travelled territory. Maria Wróbel does a great job in the lead, she effortlessly creates that kind of overly-protected young woman lacking experience but wishing to get out into the wider world, drawn to the woman who represents that for her in Sandra (Roxane Mesquida). Mesquida is a particular highlight, she gives a terrific performance, although it doesn’t feel like her character is ultimately well-served by this story. The direction is good work, as is the cinematography, they’re hitting the right notes for the kind of story you can feel this wants to tell, so there are lots of ingredients in the mix, but it doesn’t manage to get where it wants to go.
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