FilthyMind Reviews

Morvern Callar (2002)

Disappointing

[3/10 · 16 November 2002]

It has its merit's; Morvern Callar is both the merits and the disappointments. She's so enigmatic, so original. Is it her method of dealing with the pain of a lost one that's making her so distant and un-relatable? Or is she as one reviewer called her a revolutionary? Personally I'd call her dysfunctional.

Morvern is completely detaching herself. Disposing of her boyfriend, not thinking of informing family or using the money he gave her for a proper funeral, she selfishly splashes out on a trip to Spain. She's seems so devoid of anything relatively human bar greed. The only element that enables the audience see the human side of her is her close friend she takes on holiday with her. Although by the end her friend is dumped and Morvern has nothing that ties her down to humanity. She may as well have killed herself.

Despite managing to make Spain look as gloomy and bland as the UK the director's shots were superb, the lighting and color made the film visually stunning.

It's really a shame the movie has nothing in it that keeps interest. It's little over 90 minutes but feels a lot longer. They manage to make Morvern seem interesting to grab your attention but do nothing with her only alienate her from you more to the point where you don't care about the characters or the film.

AKA (2002)

Interesting break from the British Class movie Cliche.

[8/10 · 2 November 2002]

I attend a film class at Tyneside Cinema, and usually do a little bit of research about a film before i see it. I found that this movie was yet another British film about the class divide. (Oh Joy, another feel sorry for the poor people movie). Yet to my surprise the movie showed me far much more. It had what many British films have been lacking in a very interesting subject matter, that wasn't simply about feeling sorry for someone...

The story of Dean really touched me. Seeing him want to escape his lifestyle into something he knows nothing about, seeing him seem so faceless in the majority of the movie showing little personality and wanting to please so any people really thrust me into the movie and the motives behind it. He tells someone to call him nothing, because he's nobody. But eventually when he did what he had to do in order to find himself the movie ties together and you can't help but feel for him no matter how bad what he's done.

The movie doesn't play on money as much as the majority of British films on the topic, and Dean's reason for doing what he's doing gives the movie that much more a personal touch. The horrific deconstruction of Dean is amazing. The three screen divide is at times annoying, but at times it works well, the film does tend to drag a little also. But those two are my only negatives with this film.