Beatrice, a former model an an intensely sexual person is undergoing a descent into steadily worsening mental problems. We never know precisely (as in real life) what is the cause of her ailment. Heredity is suggested in one scene, but another reason could be the straitjacketed mores of a provincial town in 1962, tolerant of sexuality in males bot not in females. Beatrice is married to David, that supports and tries to help her, but is increasingly out of his depth. We don't know how happy the marriage has been before the onset of Beatrice's problems; a scene suggests that her lack of fulfillment is not recent.
The couple have two children, Sarah, on the brink of puberty and her younger brother Thomas. Thomas is too young to react to Beatrice's problems, and is clearly the favorite of both parents. At the beginning Sarah is an ugly duckling who feels her mother's wretchedness but resents her misconduct. Through the movie Sarah undergoes a sea change; at the end she is a budding young woman coming into her own and learning to cope with her family situation thanks to a faithful friend and the discovery of her artistic talents at school.
There are movies where you feel you are watching the truth. This is one; you don't see the acting. Of course, this doesn't happen by chance; it depends on the quality of the script, the actors, the chemistry between them and the way the material is put on screen. Director (and scriptwriter) Shelagh Carter's style is spare, concise and avoids easy sentimentality. The obvious reference is John Cassavetes' 1974 film A Woman Under the Influence (both deal with a woman's descent into madness) but the similarity ends here. While Cassavetes had problems sometimes with ending a scene, every shot in this movie has a purpose and one could not cut a minute without losing something essential. Acting is excellent as are cinematography and set design, that recreate time and place to perfection.
This is the first feature film by Carter (her other films are shorts), and her debut couldn't be more auspicious. I'll be waiting eagerly for her next feature film, now in post- production.
The couple have two children, Sarah, on the brink of puberty and her younger brother Thomas. Thomas is too young to react to Beatrice's problems, and is clearly the favorite of both parents. At the beginning Sarah is an ugly duckling who feels her mother's wretchedness but resents her misconduct. Through the movie Sarah undergoes a sea change; at the end she is a budding young woman coming into her own and learning to cope with her family situation thanks to a faithful friend and the discovery of her artistic talents at school.
There are movies where you feel you are watching the truth. This is one; you don't see the acting. Of course, this doesn't happen by chance; it depends on the quality of the script, the actors, the chemistry between them and the way the material is put on screen. Director (and scriptwriter) Shelagh Carter's style is spare, concise and avoids easy sentimentality. The obvious reference is John Cassavetes' 1974 film A Woman Under the Influence (both deal with a woman's descent into madness) but the similarity ends here. While Cassavetes had problems sometimes with ending a scene, every shot in this movie has a purpose and one could not cut a minute without losing something essential. Acting is excellent as are cinematography and set design, that recreate time and place to perfection.
This is the first feature film by Carter (her other films are shorts), and her debut couldn't be more auspicious. I'll be waiting eagerly for her next feature film, now in post- production.
