Benutzerrezensionen

I purveyed the comments on IMDB before deciding *first* to read the book and then watch the movie. I think this was the right move, and would strongly advise those so inclined to do the same.

So, Samantha Morton may be the greatest silent film actress of the 21st century. Her muteness in "Sweet and Lowdown" and "Minority Report" and now here speaks volumes. Seriously though she took on an extremely difficult character to portray, one whose impenetrability is at her very essence, Ms. Morton made this character seem real.

Real, albeit alien. But then a degree of alienation I think comes with what I perceive as an existential novel and film. Initially in the book, I felt that Alan Warner, the author, was too removed from his main character...across chasms of gender and age.

But as I read the book, and now watch the film...it seems to me that Morvern is a person removed from herself. Many of us fill up our days, our thoughts and such online sites as this with words.

Words....words...words.

Morvern is almost sub-literate, her interaction with publishers in both book and film is thus comical, in a sort of Chauncey Garner mode of just being there. Morvern's character always lived through her senses more than her mind. As did her best "friend" who ultimately remains the happy hedonist.

But Morvern...like the many insects shown onscreen...moves on, not with any necessary destination...she just moves for the sake of moving. I think that this ultimately is the light this film brings. I can see how others cite grief as the focus; both the suicide that impels our story, and the hotel interlude near its crossing raise the spectre of death around Morvern.

However, I see her as more absent than abjectly anguished in both of those pivotal scenes... This is the conundrum of Morvern Callar for me, while I'm attracted to such an existence, the fact that I consider it...means I'm already living more through mind than senses. If she's remote to herself, than that puts me at an even greater distance. I think this was underscored by the soundtrack switching from sound to softened sound to silence throughout.

One word about the soundtrack, where's the Peter Brotzmann? Now that's a sensory overload that shuts off my mind in favor of the senses. I was hoping more of the bands featured in the book would have made it to the film. I thought that the artists listed in the book, typically the heroes of college DJ's and other overthinkers made a remarkable contrast with Morvern's seeming simplicity.

But there's more to her than meets the eye...and...the ear, the tongue, the nose, the skin...just as there's more to this film than others' comments would indicate.

7*/10

* Again I encourage folks read the book and then enjoy the film as a chaser of sorts to flesh it out.

I won't summarise the plot as it is done so by other reviewers.

This is a highly original and unconventional yet mesmerising piece and I agree with many others that Lynne Ramsay is an exceptional talent, who possesses a vision the likes of Guy Ritchie could never even begin to imagine.

This is not an easy film to watch and it requires patience and concentration. Ramsay lets the film unfurl, slowly, with confidence and an assured touch that uses mystery and a touch of incoherence to create a confusing but oddly compelling dreamscape. Where are we? What are we seeing? What exactly is Morvern thinking and feeling? She is clearly in a very strange, disorientated headspace and this film is perfectly engineered to assist us in understanding and occupying that space.

The mystery and enigma of Morvern is wonderfully portrayed by Samantha Morton and the soundtrack encapsulates the atmosphere, as does the lack of incidental music.

Those that want to quibble over inconsistencies such as the direction of the computer keyboard delete key and whether it is in fact possible to bury a body on the moors with a trowel should get over it, step back and look at the big picture.

I looked at my watch quite frequently during Morvern Callar. I first felt impatient during the opening sequence which seemed unnecessarily drawn out. I'm sure living with a corpse in a small apartment for apparently several days can't have been very pleasant as decay starts to set in.

There are other parts of the film that just don't ring true, either. How did she use her boyfriend's debit card to get access to his entire balance? Also, I can't believe that the publishers would find her a credible author. I would have been very suspicious of her attitude and empty-headedness.

There were some beautiful images and some likeable scenes in this film, but it was like sitting through someone else's dream. The more I think about this film the less I really like it. Downgraded from my initial score of seven to a six.

I have to say that Samantha Morton is a superb actress. She doesn't play a part so much as become the part. I only hope that she's grounded enough in real life to survive this kind of immersion in her roles.

Samantha Morton stars as a "morally ambiguous" young Scottish woman who seems to come into and go from her life and surroundings without the least bit of effect from others or towards herself. I would almost label this film an Existential effort, but the main character, "Morvern Callar", DOES occasionally seem to connect with someone or something… seem… Samantha Morton does a wonderful job creating a character that deserves no attention, yet keeps you watching. Think of this story as one expressing Distances – Detachments – Disabled Psyches. Her reactions seem consistently inappropriate – ill timed for the moment. Her socialization gene was stunted at birth. Life, for better and worse, is little more than water off her back. She's not being mean, she's not being ironic, she's not being moody. She's just not being. (PS: If you have trouble with Scottish accents, prepare to concentrate.)

I haven't read the book of 'Morvern Callar', but I have read a couple of other works by Alan Warner, both of which where distinguished by their spiky characters and irreverent tone. This film, however, is made by Lynne Ramsay, whose first work was 'Ratcatcher', a move both astonishingly affecting and almost unwatchable. In 'Morvern Callar', she opts for a similarly intense style. Ramsay is a master of certain cinematic tricks, which she uses with more skill than discretion: frequent cutting (both within and between scenes) and the use of fragmentary, non-explanatory dialogue. She succeeds in conveying a sense of alienation and a semi-documentary feel, but there's no relief, no variation in mood at any point in the film. Samantha Morton (too old for the role and, crucially, not Scottish) plays Morvern as a kind of semi-moron; and yet their are times when the film seems also to be presenting her as a deep and knowing soul, a not altogether happy conjunction. Also worthy of criticism is the peculiar soundtrack: the songs we hear just don't sound like what we would expect a girl like Morvern to listen to, feeling instead like a heavy handed attempt by the director to set the scene from the outside.

Perhaps I am being too hard on the film because it wasn't what I expected from my knowledge of the writer. Once I got over this, I did quite enjoy it, many individual scenes are very nicely crafted, and the loose, drifting plot has its own appeal. But it feels more as if it was based on a short story than a novel, and Ramsay's determination to show Morvern as a victim (it's never clear of what) strips it of its potentially comic dimensions and leaves us with a thin outline trying too hard to assert its own significance. An interesting film, but one that appears to have lost sight of its purpose.

After all the hype that greeted Lynne Ramsay's first film, Ratcatcher, which I didn't see, I approached this with caution. The presence of Samantha Morton was my guarantee that it would at least be watchable, as she's never yet put a foot wrong on screen. And boy was my faith rewarded! It's a long time since I've emerged from a cinema so entranced, and then started itching to see the film again just a few hours later.

Samantha Morton's performance is truly extraordinary, bringing to life this mysterious, inscrutable woman who is at the same time very alive and in-your-face, not out of place getting smashed at a party, yet seeming like an alien as she wanders around listening to her walkman with a dazed 1000 yard stare. I was amazed to read that Kathleen McDermott, who plays her best friend, is a non-professional; it says a lot for her performance that she holds her own opposite such a stellar talent - and also says a lot for the naturalism and generosity of Morton's performance.

Some critics have been much exercised by the implausibilities in the plot (around the fate of her boyfriend's body and the dealings with the publisher, for example). I don't care about all that stuff! This film is as far away from gritty realism as it's possible to get. Go with the flow and soak up the atmosphere is my advice.

You may read that this film is beautifully photographed, that every shot is a small work of art, exquisitely composed and framed. If not, you've just read it from me. That's all very well, of course - they say the same things about Peter Greenaway, who as far as I'm concerned would have been burnt at the stake in a more civilised age. The difference here is the warmth and seeming spontaneity of Lynne Ramsay's work. I didn't hear a voice shouting "look at me, aren't I beautifully filmed??". She doesn't tell us, she just shows us, revealing a gift for finding beauty in the mundane.

The other stroke of genius in this film is the soundtrack - and I don't just mean the music, although that is brilliantly chosen, revealing a trace of gallows humour in the film's grisliest scene; no, just the use of sound, the way we can hear everything, even the cockroach scuttling along the hotel room floor; and the way some of the conversations fade in from a distance, but in such a way that we can still just about hear what is being said.

For once, the hype is justified: Lynne Ramsay is the real deal, and Samantha Morton deserves another Oscar nomination for this breathtaking performance. Unreservedly recommended. So there.

If you are feeling too much Christmas cheer left over from the holidays, a perfect antidote is Lynne Ramsay's second feature Morvern Callar. Based on a 1995 novel by Alan Warner, Morvern Callar, superbly performed by Samantha Morton, is a 21-year old supermarket clerk in a Scottish town who wakes in a semi-stupor to discover the sprawling corpse of her boyfriend on the kitchen floor. With Christmas tree lights flashing, she caresses his body but seems unable to act rationally. All she can think to do is open the Christmas presents that include a music tape labeled "Music for You".

She also finds a note in which he apologizes for his act, directs her to publish his recently completed novel, and reveals that he has given her access to his bank account. Morvern does not tell anyone about his death and astonishingly no one asks any questions. Matter of factly, she changes the name on the novel to her own, mails it to a publisher, then cuts up his body in the bathtub, and buries it using only a flat-bladed garden tool.

Using her newfound money, Morvern takes her girlfriend Lanna, played by nonprofessional actress Kathleen McDermott, to the Costa del Clubland in Spain on an extended vacation. They engage in drinking, sex, and drugs to the beat of a hip rock music soundtrack that includes The Velvet Underground, Aphex Twin, and Can. Ramsay creates a technically stylized dreamscape in which physical sensation takes the place of narrative, dialogue is sparse and self-examination is non existent.

When a publisher offers Morvern an advance of 100,00 pounds for a novel she did not write, she believes she has found the ticket to endless pleasure and, after an argument, ditches Lanna somewhere in the Spanish countryside but remains closed and enigmatic to the end. Morvern is impenetrable and unreflective, content to drift along in a mental and physical haze, lacking any sense of right or wrong or feelings for others. Morvern Callar is a beautiful looking film and an enticing sensual experience, but ultimately I found it uninvolving and lacking in emotional depth or integrity.

The only negative thing I can think to say about this film is it's off-putting title that almost prevented me from finding it. I am very glad that I did. This film, from the first frame to the last, has delivered everything that I as a lover of cinema am searching for. From a well-crafted script, to expert direction, from ethereal camera work, to a heartbreaking soundtrack, from the amount of space it allows it's vision to the pitch-perfect performance of Samantha Morton (who has clearly earned to be mentioned among the finest of today's working actresses'). While critics are still busy patting themselves on the back for being "open" enough to praise "Y Tu Mama Tambien" and "getting" "Adaptation" this incomparable piece of work makes both look like the immature work of a child while going largely unnoticed. I can only hope that some how, some way people who love film find their way to this movie. Such high praise would usually indicate a difficult film, and the subject matter or synopsis of plot would also lead you to this conclusion but I think many will come out of this film pleasantly surprised by how accessible and relevant it's story is.

For me, the most notable thing about this film was the scarcity of dialogue. It is a brave move on the director's part for sure, but for a film that tells a story of personal awakening (of sorts), the infrequent speech means we can never be sure of what Morvern is thinking or feeling. We don't get much help from the camera either - the film is exquisitely shot, but many of the scenes have a confrontational, tense and opaque sense of aesthetics - there is not enough variation in feel to tell the story of someone who changes their life completely.

My reading of Morvern Callar (as a film and a character) is of a woman who escapes from a humdrum, ugly life. Through personal awakening, art and good fortune, she comes to embrace a more bohemian and expansive existence. In short, she learns to live.

It's a big story and a big theme - yet we never really understand how and why Morvern comes to change her entire outlook on life. Neither do we hear enough from her to mitigate the more unpleasant sides of her character - her frequent (and occasionally sociopathic) lack of emotional response, her selfish excess, her deliberate mistreating of her friend. I suspect she is supposed to be a hero of sorts, but she could equally be an anti-hero or even something in between. We just never find out enough about her - in her words, anyone else's words or the director's shooting of her.

I'm glad that the film has made me consider questions like this, and as an intellectual exercise it's therefore quite enjoyable. As entertainment, as statement or as spectacle however, it's quite badly flawed.

Morvern comes home one day to find her boyfriend dead on the floor, having committed suicide. In an effort to help her get over his dead, he has left her a note, his money and his first novel - which he wants her to publish. Unsure what to do with herself, Morvern continues living her life, pretending she doesn't know where her boyfriend is; she puts her name on his book and submits it to a publishing house before taking his money and setting off to Spain for a holiday with her friend Lanna.

I taped this film and it became one of those films that I knew I'd never totally be in the mood for - it is always easier to watch some junky action movie on a wet, cold evening rather than something requiring thought. Also the reviews on this site seem to be split between `best film ever' and `worst film ever', something that is never a great sign. Anyway, I decided to watch it as I hoped it would be thought provoking and interesting. I had tried to watch Ratcatcher but had been turned off by it's failed attempts at insight or meaning and I was hoping that this film would either tone that down or actually make it work.

Sadly it didn't really do either. The plot is rambling and is more about Morvern's life and actions after her boyfriend's suicide forces her life to change. In this regard it is quite interesting in theory - Morvern appears to be tired of the life of empty clubbing etc and is looking for `somewhere beautiful' to live. As a look at her character the film interested me and the lack of `action' that some have bemoaned wouldn't have been a problem for me if it had done this well; but it doesn't. It is pretty meaningless and the film really does nothing to help you understand this character or what she is feeling or what she is going through. I am not adverse to films like this, but I do appreciate just a little bit of help in knowing what is going on! As it was, the film overdoes the meaningful shots and symbolism to the point that it left me needed to do just too much work to be able to be on the same page as it.

I realise that, for some, the idea that 20 people can watch it and each come out with 20 different films is a good thing - usually it is for me too, but I do prefer a film to have a firm structure or meaning to it - that will usually allow room for interpretation; but leaving the whole film to interpretation is an issue - especially when someone has gone to the problem of developing this character.why not use that rather than hiding it? Morton is really good and it is clear she knew her character and was well directed. She conveys quite a lot and her performance is one of her strongest I've seen. If only the film had backed her up instead of totally relying on her, mostly silent, performance to explain Morvern to the audience. Support from McDermott is also very confident and natural. The direction is quite good - good use of space and location, some clever shots and most of it does look quite beautiful. The only problem I have with Ramsay is that she seems determined not to help anyone get into her film - she uses way too much heavy meaning, metaphors etc and doesn't support them with anything real.

Overall this was still an interesting film but also a frustratingly empty and hollow one. The heart of the story has been twisted to deliver lots of `deep' insight and symbolism but yet nothing is left on the surface to act as our way in. Morton tries really hard to deliver audience understanding but it is too much for her to do it alone. Worth a look simply because it may connect with you and you will be in the `best film ever' camp, but be warned it could as easily have you bored out of your skull. For me, it interested me and made me think but Ramsay did too good a job at shrouding her story in arty pretensions to allow an idiot like me to be part of it. A shame.

Right from the eye-catching opening visuals, this is one enigmatic movie. A friend told me to see it, but this same guy insisted it was called "MOVERN Callar". If movie fans aren't even clear what the name of the flick is, it must be low-low-budget and a few fields off the beaten path. I knew the fundamental reason to see this film was the remarkable Samantha Morton. This actress seems infinitely capable of playing any kind of wide-open emotion, but she also manages to keep plenty of secrets. Critics have gone on at length about her expressive face. And they should. She does more by doing nothing than most actors do by doing everything.

Morton plays the title character, a Scottish supermarket employee whose writer boyfriend has inexplicably offed himself on Christmas. The rambling plot shows how Morvern handles his suicide. She keeps the gifts he left under the tree, she covers up his death and doesn't tell anyone what really happened, and she even scams his just-completed novel for herself. Why? Well, I can't tell you that. Writer/director Lynne Ramsay's best move is to let her star actress play every scene as simply and as non-explanatory as she can. Morvern's actions are not normal. You're going to have to decide what's really going on in her head.

'Morvern Callar' is all mood and attitude, a true character study. There's no real story. I might love this movie like a cherished stuffed animal if I ever saw it again because there are scads of fascinating details throughout. Too bad it unravels a bit during the third act. The road trip with buddy Lanna (Kathleen McDermott, in an interesting acting debut) loses steam and I started to tune out. But Ramsay does an okay job of balancing the strangeness of this story with the genuine feelings of a lower-class girl who's lost her man to his own self-pity. Samantha Morton single-handedly makes this peculiar movie worthwhile. To offset shapeless and frustrating scenes, there's Morton, completely committed and believable. Not a great movie, but what a great performance.

This is not an ordinary movie. This is in fact the opposite of ordinary movies.

Mainstream ("Hollywood") cinema of today seems (to me at least) to have lost touch with the artistry displayed by previous masters such as D.W. Griffith, Carl Theodor Dreyer and Ingmar Bergman. The art of not just telling a good story, but also telling that story in a good way. This is, in my opinion, done in a very nice way by Lynne Ramsay and her co-workers in this movie.

The things I'm talking about, which they excel at in this production, are all the things that they used to tell the stories in the silent-movie era:

* Lead actors/actresses which can actually cary the movie by facial expressions and screen-presence.

* A soundtrack which works actively to amplify the current situation, as opposed to just being "the next hit single".

* Directing, which include scenes that don't necessarily forward the story, but are used solely to convey the current mood of the characters.

If you just want a good story, you could read a book. To me, seeing a movie is about also getting the extra workmanship of acting, soundtrack and scenery, as perceived by someone else. That is what you get in this movie.

Unfortunately I don't think this performs very well as a movie-script. It may be an brilliant book, I haven't read it, but as a script I find it just plain boring and overly predictable. Having saidthat, I would recommend this movie to anyone who would like to see some excellent cinematic work.

Not just telling a story, but telling it good...

"Morvern Callar" isn't for everybody, but for those who get it, it's exceptional. Sound, visual composition, performance and mood are all in perfect synch -- from the quietly horrific opening titles to the knockout ending. Director Ramsay is one of the boldest, most self-assured directors now working. And it really irks me to read so many doophuses p**sing on her accomplishments. Especially when they succeed in scaring away potential viewers.

When someone writes that an art movie has no plot, no motivation, no interest, do they ever stop and wonder if the problem is not with the film itself, but with their own limited grasp of anything non-formulaic? I swear, "Morvern Callar" has more cinematic sweep and bravado than ten popcorny Spiel-burgers. People who say "Morvern Callar" is boring are probably the same demographic who eat at McDonald's ten or more times a month. (And shockingly, that's a very high percentage of us Americans.) Why should every "good" movie be a Happy Meal?

The key to appreciating movies like "Morvern" is to approach them like a sponge: soak up EVERYthing. But first, wring out the residue of stale dishwater. Don't be so quick to dismiss a movie where nuance is more relevant than plot ... where dialogue isn't a crutch for lazy writing ... where protagonists couldn't be played by Kate Hudson. It's much harder for a director to be original these days, because their studio bosses fear there are too many idiots out there who want their movies pre-digested -- and will pounce on anything different and brand it "pretentious."

If you hated "Morvern Callar," stop and think about it. If you just found it slow-moving and impenetrable, and couldn't appreciate the stunning photography, soundtrack, offbeat characters and ambiguous silences, then stick to reviewing episodes of "Friends." And at least give credit to Lynne Ramsay for having the guts to make movies unlike anyone else's.

I'm a fan of arty movies, but regretfully I have to report this movie to be pretentious drivel. Agonisingly slow to develop a non-existent plot based on a promising premise, the experience is, shall we say, trying. Even after bad movies I feel that I learn something, or enjoyed some aspect, but there there was nothing to appreciate. The premise was not uninteresting, but the movie starts and ends there. The acting was OK, though the characters were utterly boring. For the protagonist to aim at such an audacious goal, she is mightily empty. Pity. I usually enjoy movies that are unformulaic, but lack of formula should not be confused with zero content.

In this beautifully inane film, we get to follow the trendy, boring, Euro-trash anti-hero, Morvern Callar, on her pointless bohemian adventures funded by the serendipitous suicide of her novelist ex-boyfriend. Samantha Morton plays Morvern with the perfect blend of hedonism and apathy, and yet somehow still manages to occasionally pull off that look one gets when seeing the true beauty in a puddle of mud. No counter-culture cliché is left unturned in this powerfully vacuous work of Modern Art. Raves in Spain, road trips sans map that end up in desert wastelands - it's all here! Look for it on VHS while back-packing Europe, and then brag to your college drop-out friends about owning a brilliant Independent Film with Aphex Twin and Stereolab on the soundtrack!

I really enjoy Ramsay's style and think Morvern Callar is a careful, artistically crafted film, but the lack of dialogue and plot kept me from enjoying it more. I will say that it was a very poor decision to watch this while being quite tired, and that may have also influenced my enjoyment. I was impressed by Morton's performance and Ramsay did clearly show Morvern's struggle with avoiding grief and trying to run away from it, unable to face her life head on. That was a very interesting and well developed theme, but beyond that, there was little dialogue and her interactions with Lanna didn't reveal much aside from Morvern's introverted nature. The lack of consistent, propelling plot and limited exposition in regards to Morvern's mind or intentions (along with my tired, near-sleep state when watching) made Morvern Callar a cool, good watch but not memorable or exceptional in any element.

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.