Note: this essay contains extensive spoilers for What Lies Beneath.
The blending of established genres often leads to innovative and unique storytelling, as in the case of 2000’s What Lies Beneath. Sitting firmly at the intersection of ghost story, psychological thriller, and mystery, the film weaves traditional tropes into something entirely new. Directed by Robert Zemeckis and adapted by Clark Gregg from documentarian Sarah Kernochan’s script treatment, What Lies Beneath remains a chilling examination of female madness and survival inside an unsafe relationship.
The story centers on Norman Spencer (Harrison Ford), a lauded scientist and professor, and his wife, Claire (Michelle Pfeiffer). From the film’s outset, Claire is painted as a “troubled” woman, someone capable of great emotion. She cries as she drops her daughter off at college; she spies on the neighbors. She is, for all intents and purposes, a caricature of a well-off white woman of a certain age — irrational and nosy. After flipping through old photos, the detritus of her young life, Claire runs outside to weep in her picturesque garden. Strangely in sync, she encounters the aforementioned neighbor, Mary Feur (Miranda Otto), sobbing on the other side of their shared fence. All Claire sees is the woman’s blonde hair and sorrow as she laments cryptically, “One day I’ll just disappear.”
And she does disappear, with the film becoming a Vertigo-esque exercise in missing women and mistaken identities. And also ghosts: Claire becomes convinced that Mary’s ghost is haunting her, opening doors and appearing in mysteriously filled bathtubs. Claire follows the threads with the single-minded intensity of a middle-aged woman with a lot of time on her hands, confident Mrs. Feur was murdered by her husband, Warren (James Remar).
Claire operates under this assumption for a large portion of the movie, until she finally sees Mary alive. But there’s still a ghost in Claire’s house: a young blonde woman who is decidedly not the woman next door. All the while, Claire’s husband is mostly absent as she pads around the too-big house like a maiden in a Gothic castle. Claire opens up to Norman, telling him about her encounters and seances on the bathroom floor. He responds by shuffling her off to therapy and bringing up the ghost at dinner, in front of mutual friends, as Claire gapes at him in horror.
What Lies Beneath is filled with moments like this — Norman dealing impatiently with his “hysterical” wife. What makes it so remarkable is that Claire is overtly aware of how she sounds and how she’s perceived; she knows what he thinks of her, explaining, “Ever since the accident, he treats me like I’m this fragile, loopy…well, I am seeing ghosts in the bathtub, aren’t I?” Even in his absence, Norman has conditioned Claire to doubt herself. But, because the film aligns us with Claire for the vast majority of its runtime, viewers begin to see Norman’s impatience, “concern,” and dismissal for what it is: gaslighting.
Norman is not a supportive husband or even a good guy. That fact is slowly revealed to both Claire and the viewer, and what starts as the story of an unsteady woman with empty nest syndrome becomes a tale of a villainous mate. Because the ghost in Claire’s house? The blonde woman who Claire says “looked like me”? Well, she was Norman’s student, and they were having an affair. And now’s a great time to mention that Norman did, in fact, murder her.
The ghost of Madison Frank (Amber Valletta) helps Claire remember knowledge she’d deliberately tried to escape; Claire had known about the affair — she’d walked in on the pair before wrapping her car around a tree as she, understandably distraught, attempted to flee the scene. The accident is alluded to multiple times as Norman, under the guise of concern, uses it to infantilize his wife. With more context, it’s clear the event was driven by Norman’s deceit. His desire to weaponize an incident he caused as proof of his wife’s mental instability is truly treacherous.
Once the true nature of Norman’s crimes comes to light, the film becomes a race for survival as he tries, and fails, to murder Claire. But she outwits him and, in the end, the spirit of Madison Frank helps drag him to a watery grave. It’s an unusual ghost story that subtly subverts expectations. Claire is repeatedly framed as a victim of her own melancholy, but that’s not her reality. She’s a fighter for truth and righteousness, unable to rest until she finds justice for the woman who haunts her. It may waver, but Claire never stops trusting her instincts, even if her physical evidence is fleeting. It’s that full-throated advocacy, for both herself and others, that is Norman’s undoing.
Harrison Ford is cast against type as a philandering, murderous husband. Ford, typically a hero like Indiana Jones, an authority figure like in Air Force One, and a family man like in Regarding Henry, is off-putting in the role. We recognize his “aw-shucks,” good-natured dad act, and we want to trust him. Even as the red flags pile up, we, like Claire, want to believe in a goodness deep within him. As Claire gets closer to the truth, he pivots, changing his story and even staging an accident to win her sympathy. His goal is to prop himself up even if it means grinding Claire down. At one point, he has her convinced that, yes, he had an affair with Madison, but he didn’t kill her. No, she took her own life after Norman ended the relationship. Madison was obsessed and, as Norman tells Claire, “She threatened to kill herself. Or you.” Even in death, there is no peace for Madison Frank because her murder needs a scapegoat, and, well, women are crazy, right?
Norman is insidiously evil, wearing his nice guy disguise like a second skin. But the tell-tale signs are there if you’re looking for them. Claire is cogent, self-assured, and utterly certain something is happening to her. She goes to Norman, frantic, and he uses it to secure his position as beleaguered husband. “Are you mad at me?” he interrupts. He goes so far as to accuse her of sabotaging him, forever centering his career and reputation — Norman takes every opportunity to cut Claire down. At a work party, he encourages her not to talk to the hostess, a woman who can, and does, give her information that leads to Claire’s eventual revelation. Norman tries to keep her siloed off, thinking she’s alone and unstable, to protect himself. But the ghost of Madison Frank won’t allow it. As she leads Claire to the truth, it becomes clear that Madison is an ally, not a malevolent force. They stand united, the way women should in the face of terrible men. Claire is determined to find justice for the murdered woman and, in turn, for herself.
Norman’s treatment of Claire — and women in general — can be viewed as an analogue for society as a whole. At the center of his own universe, Norman believes he can murder any woman who encroaches on his success. He manipulates Claire into doubting her very real concerns, relating to her not as a partner but a burden he’s tasked to carry. What Lies Beneath is a story of terror, but not at the hands of a ghost; it’s the terror that comes from realizing a man’s ambitions are more important than a woman’s life. The terror of a solitary existence spent in constant peril, of losing yourself and your autonomy. Through her quest for survival, Claire Spencer secures her spot as the quintessential middle-aged Final Girl, and What Lies Beneath maintains its relevance as a truly unique examination of female hysteria.
