Also, what the hell decade was this? Their car hadn't been registered since "1960," yet they both are in their thirties????? No one thought it was odd that she had finger curls and dressed in such a rigidly anachronistic way? She was able to walk into a drug store and get large amounts of sedatives?? 3 out of 10 for lighting and set design, and I think I'm being generous.
1. The movie takes place in the present. All the scenes outside the house are clearly happening now - modern cars, shops, etc. Kate Bosworth has an obsession with having children, which, in her mind, has become entwined with a belief that things were better in the past, in the postwar era when it was typical for women her age to be housewives and mothers. That's why she dresses and talks the way she does. In fact, her wardrobe is the first clue that the movie is not actually taking place in the past, since her clothes are a mishmash of fashions from the 50s and early 60s. Many of them are of style 10 years older than than the mid-60s car we've already seen. The wardrobe didn't fit one particular period, cluing us into the idea that this is a woman with an obsession with the past rather than a character actually from the past.
It's been a while since I saw the movie. I don't recall if it's explained exactly how they ended up with the 1965 vehicle, but it fit the setting, which the director clearly wanted to be a surreal blend of the postwar years and today.
2. Kate works in some sort of health care (human or animal) capacity. At one point, it appears that she's working as a veterinarian, or at least a veterinary assistant. That's how she gets access to ketamine, commonly used as an animal tranquilizer. Later on, she shows up as a nurse, but who knows if she has any valid credentials at all.
I liked the movie for, as you say, the ambiance. I also like Wes Bentley, and he was on screen nearly all the time, so I was happy to watch him for an hour and half. The story had potential; the twist ending was not terribly surprising but at least it was original. Not a great movie by any means, but entertaining enough.
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