Evelyn Stoker (Nicole Kidman) and Uncle Charlie (Matthew Goode)

Pity on Evelyn Stoker, played with controlled anguish and a sigh by Nicole Kidman. Her daughter India Stoker, played by Mia Wasikowska, grew up a daddy’s girl and is intrigued by her uncle Charlie. These facts torment Evelyn. “Weren’t you supposed to love me?” she wails to her daughter at one point.

Uncle Charlie, played with sinister boyish charm by Matthew Goode, is Evelyn’s foil from whom she tries to wrestle her daughter’s devotion.

India Stoker comes of age under Uncle Charlie’s guidance.

Stoker, Chan-Wook Park’s U.S. directorial debut, is a cautionary tale. Evelyn should have conducted a background check on Uncle Charlie who suddenly comes a’callin after her husband’s death—a death that swings the door wide open for Uncle Charlie to swoop into the home and to work his … uhm … magic.

Beware of Uncle Charlie. Anyone who protects India simply is … banished!

Chan-Wook Park delivers a strikingly uncanny film; yet, don’t be surprised if you fight the urge to yell at the screen, “get on with the story, will you?”

Stoker plays through April 11 at the Ross Media Arts Center in Lincoln.

Like Someone in Love, the story of an unlikely attraction directed by Abbas Kiarostami and starring Rin Takanaski and Tadaski Okuno is showing at the Ross through April 4.

Abridged Audio version from Friday Live! at the Mill @ 13:53 http://tinyurl.com/dyum2ul