Friday, March 12, 2010

Netflix It: Morvern Callar

Available from Netflix: Morvern Callar, directed by Lynne Ramsay

Personally, I didn't love this movie, but it got an 84% fresh rating from Rotten Tomatoes, so your opinion may differ.

Synopsis from AllMovie:

A woman's life is set onto a new path by tragedy and confusion in this offbeat drama from maverick director Lynne Ramsay. Morvern Callar (Samantha Morton) is a woman in her early twenties who wakes up in her flat in a small Scottish town on Christmas morning to a rather unpleasant surprise -- her live-in boyfriend has committed suicide, and his body lies on the floor in a pool of blood. She discovers that he has left a short message for her on the screen of his personal computer ("I love you. Be brave."), as well as the text of a novel he had recently completed. Changing the name on the title page to her own, Morvern begins sending the manuscript out to publishers without having actually read it. Eventually, Morvern disposes of her boyfriend's body, scrubs away the evidence of his suicide, and attempts to reintegrate herself with the world, though the shocking events seems to have built a wall between her and those around her, and she is unable to explain what has happened to anyone, even her best friend, Lanna (Kathleen McDermott). Eventually, Morvern draws the last of her boyfriend's money from the bank and treats herself and Lanna to a short vacation in Spain, where they become friendly with a group of hedonistic British expatriates and soon find their friendship stretched to the breaking point. Morvern Callar was based on the novel by Alan Warner; it was originally intended to be Lynne Ramsay's first directorial effort, but she was able to complete her film Ratcatcher before securing funding for this project.

6 comments:

  1. I love this movie! What didn't you like about it?

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  2. I just had a very different idea of what it was going to be--I thought it was going to be her riding around having adventures and listening to the mix tape. I guess it was, in a way, but not a very fun-looking way. Also, I found Morvern to be repellent; I couldn't get into her head. It looks like I'm in the minority, though, which I don't mind. Why did you love it?

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  3. It was so slow and silent. I felt like I was watching a documentary. I love fiction films that feel like documentaries, i.e. when there is a sense that the camera was just left rolling...

    Did you see the filmmakers other films?

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  4. I haven't, but I would like to. She has a movie coming out in 2011 called, "We Need to Talk About Kevin," which looks interesting.

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  5. I know. I can't wait to see it.

    P.S. I love your blog. As a female/feminist filmmaker, I really appreciate someone taking the time to put this blog together!

    --Cathy

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  6. Thanks so much! Glad you enjoy it. When you do your first movie, you'll have to let me interview you!

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