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Hereditary movie is a psychological horror film written and directed by Ari Aster in his feature-length directorial debut, released in 2018. The movie features Toni Collette as Annie Graham, the lead of the story, Gabriel Byrne as her husband Steve, Alex Wolff as their son Peter, and Milly Shapiro as their daughter Charlie.
The story revolves around the Graham family as they come to terms with a personal tragedy, discovering a deeper connection to Annie's deceased mother, Ellen. One of the notable elements in the movie is the dollhouse created by Annie, a miniature artist. This miniature home plays an important role in the narrative, acting as a symbol and a representation of the family's circumstances.
The use of the dollhouse brings about questions of control, manipulation, and predestination and adds to the overall themes of the film. But what does the dollhouse signify, and how does it relate to the events that unfold?
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How does the dollhouse reflect Annie’s control and obsession in the Hereditary movie?
In the opening scene, Annie, a miniature artist, creates detailed scenes from her life in a dollhouse. This control over tiny worlds reflects her need to manage the chaos in her reality. The dollhouse becomes a coping mechanism, helping Annie deal with grief and trauma after her mother's death and rising family tensions by allowing her to process emotions indirectly.
However, this attempt to control her environment through art ultimately underscores her helplessness. As the events of the film spiral into the supernatural, it becomes clear that Annie and her family are being manipulated by forces far beyond their control.
How does the dollhouse symbolize predestination?
The dollhouse in the Hereditary movie also represents predestination, a crucial theme in the story, where the well-organized miniatures shadow the way the Graham family is controlled by a cult worshiping the demon Paimon. As Annie assembles figures in the dollhouse, so do unnamed forces orchestrate the events in the lives of the family.
The cinematography of the Hereditary movie further supports this idea. It often cuts from the dollhouse to the real world, creating the feeling that the characters are playing into a constructed scheme. This makes it even more poignant that the characters have no control over their own lives, as well as furthering the connection between Annie's artistic creation and the calculated moves of the cult.
What role does the dollhouse play in the ending?
In the Hereditary movie’s In the film’s conclusion, the significance of the dollhouse becomes clearer. After the deaths of Annie, Steve, and Charlie, Peter becomes the chosen vessel for Paimon. The final sequence shows Peter entering the treehouse, where the cult’s ritual is completed. The arrangement of the cult members resembles a diorama, reflecting the dollhouse’s recurring theme.
The dollhouse symbolizes the family's inability to escape their fate and the theme of control and predestination throughout the film. The end of Hereditary serves as a reminder of the powerful forces shaping the characters' lives, emphasizing their lack of control and raising questions about personal agency versus external influences.
Hereditary movie is available on Netflix.
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