BABY RUBY -- Postpartum Psychological Thriller is Tough Viewing

Review by Cole Groth

Noémie Merlant in BABY RUBY, a Magnet release. Photo courtesy of Magnet Releasing.

If you’re an avid fan of psychological thrillers or like feeling as if you’re insane, you’ll get a lot out of Baby Ruby. It’s a somewhat messy, albeit very effective, look at postpartum depression that puts a horror twist on the common anxieties that new mothers deal with. From writer/director Bess Wohl, this film’s messy script is buoyed by an excellent Noémie Merlant, who stops the experience from becoming as frustrating as its premise.

Baby Ruby tells the story of a lifestyle blogger whose life begins to unravel after the birth of her child, Ruby. Jo (Merlant) lives an idyllic life with her husband, Spencer (Kit Harington). Everything she does is carefully scripted to show her best side to the public, and she spends a large amount of her time crafting an image for the world to prepare for Ruby’s birth.

After Ruby is born, things start going wrong in the controlled life of Jo. Her mother-in-law (Jayne Atkinson) is suffocating, some of the people around her begin questioning her sanity, and Ruby is incessantly crying. No matter what, Jo doesn’t seem to be able to calm her down, which is enough to drive anybody to the brink of madness.

​It’s hard to fully express my opinion on this because I don’t know, nor will I ever know, what going through postpartum depression is like. I wasn’t very aware of what it was before watching the movie and researching it. In that sense, this film brings attention to many women’s struggles, which is an admirable focus. However, Jo’s depression is treated more like she’s going insane, leading to a frustrating viewing experience. Films about crazy people or people who think they’re losing their marbles aren’t audience-friendly. It’s no fun to have a movie lie to you, and Bess Wohl leans too heavily into horror genre tropes. We start to question what’s happening and what isn’t happening, which isn’t a rewarding experience for viewers. If you are paying attention, you’ll get about as much out of it as if you were only popping up during the significant bits.

Kit Harington and Noémie Merlant in BABY RUBY, a Magnet release. Photo courtesy of Magnet Releasing.

After the fourth or fifth sequence of Ruby’s constant crying, it becomes an increasingly hard film to sit through. Wohl does a great job at recreating the stress of dealing with a child who just won’t give up, but these scenes feel like they’re playing more as elements of a horror movie than that a psychological thriller. It’s scary enough to become a new parent; there isn’t much of a reason for Jo to start having visions of her dog eating her baby or a frightening woman appearing on a baby monitor.

The messy mix between horror and thriller isn’t the only problem with the script. Much of the dialogue is uninteresting, and Wohl tries tackling a few other issues with motherhood. One subplot with another woman (Meredith Hagner) feels like it doesn’t belong in the film. While I won’t spoil this plot, her character stands out as a somewhat confusing bump in an already bumpy road.

At the end of the day, Baby Ruby hasn’t done anything new. Films about the anxiety of being a new mother have already been done before, and even if the script wasn’t as confusing as it is, this isn’t breaking any new ground. Sure, it’s well-performed and decently paced, but it’s not an interesting enough experience to make going through the pain that Jo has worth it. However, fans of the genre will find a decent entry and could find a new perspective on motherhood.

Baby Ruby releases on Amazon Prime on January 27th.

Rating: 2.5/5