Morvern Callar (2002)

This is a mystery movie. Morvern Callar's boyfriend has just committed suicide at the start of the film. No reason is initially given as to why a handsome and talented young writer should do this, and the remainder of the movie is dedicated to explaining why he has done so, using the "show, not tell" method. After the first hour in Morvern's company, I was already losing the will to live. I perked up a bit when there was the hope that she might be gored to death during the running of the bulls, but this came to nothing. If I felt that way after an hour or so, no wonder her boyfriend topped himself. He had to put up with the retarded sociopath 24/7.Morton is a competent actress, but she has appeared in some real dross. This one takes the cake.To be fair, the musical soundtrack is not at the same level of competence as the rest of the film. It is worse.

Scottish screenwriter, cinematographer and director Lynne Ramsay's second feature film which she co-wrote with Italian-born screenwriter Liana Dognini, is an adaptation of a novel by Scottish author Alan Warner from 1995 which was shot on location in United Kingdom, Scotland and Spain. It premiered in the Director's Fortnight section at the 55th Cannes International Film Festival in 2002, was screened in the Visions section at the 27th Toronto International Film Festival in 2002 and is a UK-Canada co-production and was produced by South African-born producer Robyn Slovo, British television producer George Faber and British television producer Charles Pattinson. It tells the story about Morvern Callar, a woman in her twenties who lives with her boyfriend in a Scottish coastal town where she works at a shopping mall with her best friend Lanna. Christmas is nearby, and one day after visiting the local pub with Lanna, Morvern returns to her home where she finds her boyfriend dead on the floor of their living room. Left behind with an unpublished novel, a recorded tape of music and some money, Morvern invites her friend on a holiday trip to Spain.Scottish filmmaker Lynne Ramsay had made three short films and her directorial debut "Ratcatcher" (1999) before she made this innovative and internal study of character, a meditative soul-search which explores the inner life of the mysterious protagonist Morvern Callar. Her subtle camera movements and creative perspectives mirrors a passion and consideration for her motives which is very appealing and with her intimate close ups of Samantha Morton she really gets into the core of the protagonist. While notable for it's naturalistic milieu depictions and the colorful and artistic cinematography by German-born cinematographer Alvin H. Kuchler, this character-driven fictional tale contains a psychedelic score with music from amongst others Apex Twin and The Velvet Underground which increases the cryptic atmosphere.The first image of Samantha Morton's face immediately triggers one's curiosity for the dark haired, mystic and short spoken Morvern Callar who recently lost her lover and who is going through the initial phase of grief. Morvern Callar is an archetype heroine, and after facing a traumatic incident she counterattacks instead of digging herself down. But is she in denial? Is she trying to escape reality? Or is her decision somehow right? The synoptic though ambiguous screenplay aims in on the main character and creates an unforgettable character in this contemplative independent film which is impelled and reinforced by British actress Samantha Morton's transcendent acting performance and the compelling acting performance by Scottish actress Kathleen McDermott. A diverse psychological drama which gained, among other awards, the Award of the Youth for Foreign Film and the C.I.C.A.E. Award at the 55th Cannes Film Festival in 2002, the British Independent Film Award for Best Actress Samantha Morton and Best Technical Achievement Alvin H. Kuchler at the 5th British Independent Film Awards in 2002 and the BAFTA Scotland Award for Best Actress Kathleen McDermott at the BAFTA Awards, Scotland in 2002.

Loved the soundtrack. Once the CD enters my stereo system, it stays there for a long time. I had seen the movie before I became familiar with the CD and I remembering not liking the movie too much.Anyways I decided to give the film another chance purely based on my fondness for the songs. Unfortunately I was left sorely disappointed. Most of the song play only for a few seconds and almost half of the soundtrack is played by the time the first party is over and by the 26 minute mark almost 3/4th of the soundtrack is already played, which leaves another 60 minutes of drab movie to wait for the next track. Nannou is the only track that is played completely and that too is during the credits.Soundtrack lovers better keep away from the movie, it disappoints. 2 stars for the great music.

My wife and I watch a film every night with no distractions, and mostly artsy films that require thought. I have tons of patience for films that are slow to blossom. My wife has double the attention span that I do. All that being said-- this film is just plain empty and BORING! It went nowhere. Never blossomed. It started fairly strong with a promising plot...then she bakes cookies...goes to Spain....she sulks, she stares....the credits roll. Uneven, full of holes, false starts & dead ends. We FF'd through several extended sequences of her just staring off into space. Artificial depth was implied when she played with the mud and cried. Zzzz...... It's like a beautifully shot chick-flick that's pretending to be deep or artsy. You never get to know nor understand Morvern at all. About halfway through you just don't care anymore. We just wanted to see at least one of the plot lines develop. Don't waste your time on this. I'm shocked it scores so high.