"Good always expires.If it is not in this world, it will be in the following ".This is stated by one of the characters of 'The appearance of things' during a session of spiritualism, turning that ghost world (which usually serves to give wings to horror stories) in a matter of moral justice.That is the path that also travels this film by Robert Sprucini and Shari Springer Berman ('American Splendor'), based on the novel 'All Things Cease Toppear' by Elizabeth Brundage and released in Netflix, where the earthly world and the spiritual worldThey shake hands to talk about unconfessable secrets, femicides and Swedish philosophy.
The story, set in the 80s, follows Catherine Claire (Amanda Seyfried), an artist who moves with certain repairs from her Manhattan floor to Chosen, a town lost in the Hudson Valley, because her husband George (James Norton) He has found a job as an art professor at the University of Saginaw.They are installed with their little daughter Franny (Ana Sophia Heger) in a house where terrible crimes have apparently occurred in the past, and that have left an important imprint in the place.Catherine will discover not only the mysteries that her new home hides, but also the man with whom she shares her life.
Obviously, we will reveal all the spoilers about 'The appearance of things', so, if you have not seen it, stop reading!
'The appearance of things': What happens in the end?
When we go to the final stretch of the film, it is clear that George is not the person who said to be.We had had enough clues, the truth: the adventure he has with a girl from the town (played by Natalia Dyer of 'Stranger Things'), the constant comments to his wife about his eating disorder, the opacity about his decisions and his past...We soon discovered that a good part of what he had told us (and his wife) was a lie.Those paintings that hang from their office and that testify that it would have been a great artist?He was actually painted by his cousin, who died in an accident with the ship that George later inherited.Your professor at the University of Chosen?He succeeded in falsifying a recommendation from the former University of him, where he left for the back door after harassing his students.Trying to cover all this dark past, George begins to remove lives: first that of the head of the Art History Department of the University of Saginaw, Floyd must (F.Murray Abraham), who was going to fire him the next day, and then that of his wife's friend, Justine Sokolov (Rhea Seahorn), whom he takes from the road out of a blow while driving.
Among things he finds out and quite successful deductions, Catherine realizes that all his life with this man has been a farce and that he has to flee.Thus the latest events of history are precipitated.George arrives home and captures what is happening to the first (his daughter is with the clothes on the bed and the trunk of the car is full of suitcases, there is no need to be a louvre), so drugs to Catherine, to bedrag.There, he kills her axes.In theory, it becomes the main suspect, but it manages to have a restrained enough solid, and, together with the lack of evidence, the police have to let him go.
These are the facts so far (there are still a few, but patience), but it is necessary to introduce an important element to understand the story: the spiritual dimension of the house.From the beginning of the film, we have seen that some spirits inhabit the new home of the Claire, and we soon discover that it is those who died between their four walls.First we know her Vayle (yes, the one that appears on the corners to give us the few 'Jumpcares' of the film), to which her husband murdered, and then we discover that there are also the reverend Smit and his wife, to which the firstdrowned with gas in the middle of the night.The research that the protagonist does on them suggests that the two women were believers of that spiritual dimension, followers of the theories of the Swedish philosopher of the 18th century Emanuel Swedenborg and their book 'Heaven and Hell.And, of course, his husbands disapproved.
The same happens between Catherine and George.Wow, which comes to tell us that the story is repeated, and the spirits of the two women have been manifesting in the house to warn the new victim, to break this cycle of violence.As we have told, they don't get it.For its part, George seems possessed by the other spirit that occupies the house (remember, when they do the spiritualism session, that a struggle between the spirits is heard), the evil one, and it is not clear how much of what he does in the latterScenes of the film are a consequence of their own free will or the influence of the spirit.Although, as mentioned in a moment of the film, evil spirits come to evil people, and good spirits help good people.
But what did Swedenborg believe in relation to all this?Basically, that everything in the natural world has a counterpart in the spiritual world, and that the veil that separates both worlds is quite fine.The film takes these teachings as a basis for its history, where, in effect, the spiritual and earthly worlds intermingle.The philosopher still gives us another element that will be crucial to understand George's last scene: on the cover of his book, and several times in the film, we see the picture 'The Valley of the Shadow of Death' ofGeorge Inness of 1867.The painting represents a man on a ship traveling from the world of the living to the spiritual kingdom, with a burning cross upside down in heaven.
Having all this in mind, we arrive, now, the latest scenes of 'The appearance of things'.George's perfect plan staggers when Justine awakens the coma in which the car accident had left her.It seems to be suggested that he achieves it thanks to the help of her spirits and Mrs. Smit, who see the opportunity to find justice for her new ghostly friend Catherine.And Justine knows everything, she can knock down the murderer's lies and put him in the life for life.And that marks the end for George, who listens to voices while showering and throwing the impulses that, perhaps, are also dictating the evil spirits.Thus, take the ship and throw into the sea in the middle of a storm.What we see is as in George Inness's painting, although with some changes.George is going to the spiritual world, hopefully a kind of purgatory to pay for his sins in earthly life.Although we don't know for sure.In the background sound the voices of Catherine and she: "Thanks to you, we are united in spirit.Thanks to you, our powers grow.From small drops to an infinite sea ".
Despite the forcefulness of this scene, there is still one more plane before finishing the film.It is an image of the Smit, towards which we approach to see that Mrs. Smit carries the ring that Catherine found in the kitchen at the beginning of the movie.The protagonist thought that she belonged to her, but it turnsand the same fight.This last plane suggests that it is his spirit that tries to protect them so that they do not suffer the same destiny as her.Of course, it cannot be said that it was successful this time (after all, Catherine has died), although Justine will find justice in the earthly world.Perhaps, not to leave us such a bitter taste, we have to follow for the last time the teachings of Swedenborg: death is only the beginning.
