Not essential at all, but it's worth renting. Vera Farmiga is an actress to be watched. She's a beautiful mess here. The cinematography has some nice Kubrickian surprises. For instance, the way that the bold blue color of the title character's room contrasts with the lighter colors of the hallway/the whole house reminded me of
Eyes Wide Shut. And the film flows nearly as well. My favorite scene has to be Joshua's recital. It's a perfectly tense scene.
