Morvern Callar

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.)

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.

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.

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.

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.