The Cement Garden

Seventeen-year-old Julie assumes the household's leadership after her father's death, becoming practical, value-driven, and emotionally guarded. As isolation deepens, she forms a complicated bond with her brother Jack and steps into a permissive yet dangerous role within the family. Her relationship with an older man, Derek, and her willingness to bend rules reveal a desperate attempt to control their collapsing world.

Narcissistic and immature, Jack oozes self-importance while taking on a parental authority after the father's death. He develops an incestuous crush on Julie and uses deceit to protect their secret, reflecting a boy on the edge of adolescence corrupted by isolation. His mindset shifts from childish neglect to dangerous boldness as circumstances tighten.

13-year-old Sue retreats into herself, becoming increasingly withdrawn after their mother's illness. She communicates mostly through her diary, revealing her inner life and fear of the outside world. Her quiet presence contrasts with her siblings' spiraling actions.

The youngest sibling, Tom oscillates between childish regression and attempts at feminine disguise. His behavior—cross-dressing and infantile withdrawal—signals the family's disintegration and his desperate need for attention and care. Tom's evolution symbolizes the fragility of childhood in a collapsing household.

An older man who becomes involved with Julie, Derek is a source of tension and suspicion for Jack. He senses the growing strangeness in the house and ultimately confronts the family's secret, exposing the fragility of their relationship with outsiders. His presence highlights the outsiders' gaze on a hollow, hidden family.

The patriarch collapses from a heart attack, triggering the family’s collapse into a self-governing unit. His death leaves his wife and children to manage the house, setting the stage for the siblings' improvisational control and the eventual entombment of their mother's body.

Bedridden and ill, the mother becomes a catalyst for the family's concealment and its ultimate demise. Her illness isolates the children and compels them to cover up her absence from the hospital, knowing that discovery could lead to foster care. Her death seals the family's descent into secrecy and decay.