Whether mummy or mommy, a creature whose face is cloaked in bandages is eerie. So it might seem reasonable for twins Lukas and Elias (Lukas and Elias Schwarz) to be distrustful when their mother (Susanne Wuest) returns from the hospital with a wrapped face. As Goodnight Mommy soon reveals, however, very little about the physically identical brothers is reasonable.
The trauma that preceded the events of this austere yet gruesome thriller can be recounted in a single sentence, but writing that sentence would nullify the movie’s effect. With Goodnight Mommy, summary soon wanders into spoiler territory.
Likewise, it would be improper to specify exactly what sort of story this is. The clues are there, and many viewers will solve the puzzle before the film divulges the answer, but the narrative ploy is well camouflaged. Like professional conjurers, writer-directors Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala are masters of diversion.
A few things can be disclosed without risk. The family lives in an agonizingly sparse modernist home in the Austrian countryside. Mom is a TV personality of some kind. Dad is literally out of the picture — photos of him have been removed from the house. The boys are very close, although one is the doer and the other the thinker.