So I'm trying to work out where you two tessellate

Continuing my trip up The Guardian's Top 50 Films of 2019

#5 : The Souvenir

Tom Burke and Honor Swinton Byrne star in Joanna Hogg’s most personal and intimate drama to date: the extraordinary and excoriating story of her first major romance

A completely random option which I have to watch because a certain film has appeared in the 2022 list.  If you know, then you know - otherwise you'll have to wait until I remember to update this link to tell you.  I've no idea what to expect from it - I have a sneaking suspicion I'm going to roll my eyes at the superficial artiness of it all, but let's see shall we?

Hmmm - "superficial artiness" is a bit harsh because it's basically a true story, but it doesn't feel very relatable ("extraordinary and excoriating" is pretty accurate).  Julie (Honor Swinton Byrne) is at film school when she starts up a relationship with Anthony, a charming older man (Tom Burke) who turns out to be a bit of a wrong 'un - it takes us about five seconds to realise this, but it obviously took Julie/Joanna considerably longer to cotton on because of her sheltered/privileged upbringing.  And basically that's all that happens as we dip into various aspects of Julie's personal, family and school life as the relationship progresses.  And well, it's generally all rather dull.

I think it's "true to life"ness is part of my problem with it.  The detail is well observed, but it's just not of interest.  And in the interesting bits, Julie is just so naive and manipulated that I felt very uncomfortable watching it - if only half the details are an accurate portrayal of Joanna Hogg's life then it's certainly a brave choice to put them on screen and I hope she found the process therapeutic.  I, on the other hand, did not and spent a lot of the time feeling either uncomfortable or bored.

I do think it's well acted, but not really in a style I appreciate.  It's the first major role for Honor Swinton Byrne (Tilda Swinton's daughter) and she looks comfortable in front of the camera, even though she's often called upon to look uncomfortable.  Tom Burke is also good - Anthony's an interesting character because you just don't know whether you can believe anything he says.  There's also a very young looking Richard Ayoade in it - seeming somewhat more natural than he normally does (but the bit he's in is extremely boring!).  And the good news is that Tilda actually does some normal acting in this - unlike another of her films I've very recently endured.  It also features Tosin Cole (Ryan from Doctor Who) but I totally didn't recognise him!

I know there's a phrase for this style of film but I don't know what it is - I'm pretty certain it's not going to be "blurry, 'look at me being true to life' nonsense" though.  And yes, I'm being harsh but I really struggled to keep interest in this or to like any of the people in it and it all feels very "art school".  I can see the argument that it's a "good" film though - in addition to being well acted it feels very artfully designed (whilst at the same time being true to life) and Joanna Hogg obviously has a good eye for a shot.

All in all, this really hasn't put me in the mood for the film I've got to watch next - it was a massive struggle to complete which has taken me about ten sittings over six months.  I do hope it worked as therapy for Joanna, because it certainly didn't work as a film for me - it feels like one for the art critics and no-one else.  But if you're still determined to watch it after that ringing endorsement, it's available to stream on Netflix or to rent in all the usual other locations.

#39 - Surprisingly watchable nonsense