La Guêpe

Spanish director Guillem Morales delivers an intense thriller that pleasantly surprises with its interpretive strength. It is one of those rare feature films that exudes its theatrical origin from the beginning, but remains absolutely cinematic in every sense.

As we enter into the story proposed by screenwriter Morgan Lloyd Malcolm, who adapts her own play, obtaining a film that constantly surprises you with the force with which it explores past traumas and desperation so that as spectators we fall into a game of mental duels that bring out the best in its two performers. Both main characters feel trapped like the eloquent metaphors with which their director gives us clues in its powerful beginning.

Both Naomi Harris and Natalie Dormer enter into a duel of characters with intense monologues and all the expressive talent of two great actresses who absolutely take over the film and make you have great moments of resentment, sorrow and madness. All stimulated by the talent of the Spanish director who manages to make his debut in English with all the intelligence and wisdom of a director who knows how to handle suspense with absolute greatness. If we take into account his previous works, it is a sure bet for the film to be as efficient as it is, and to have a great director behind it.

The Spanish director's direction takes us on a journey full of tension and suspense, with the particularity of having some wild and attractive twists, with a disturbing and dramatic piece that contains a lot in its 96 minutes and that remains in the memory beyond its final credits.

A surprising and distressing ending with a masterful handling of atmosphere, tension and details make this a great film that is worth giving your time to and enjoying as one of those little gems that always come to surprise us with satisfaction.

This film is based off a play. That's why it may be moving slow at times, it may feel brainy, and intellectual.

Behind it, there is a great analysis on psychological scarring, social abuse, and perpetuating said abuse, in cycles that for some individuals seem inescapable.

Very well acted. Natile Dorman is a chameleon on her choice of roles and show her amazing range. But the same should be said about Naomi Harris. Both dig deep and bring forth a balance range of acting chops that should get them some award considerations.

The film is so full of human and social commentaries that I can see it being shown in Universities and even Senior courses in some high-schools, to elicit conversations about the topics dwells in.

I hope it gets a bit more love in the ratings with the passing of time.

This movie is a remarkable testament to the power of a finely crafted screenplay and the intricate show of character interactions, both of which the writing executes with admirable skills.

The story may not be particularly resourceful, but those who appreciate conversation heavy drama enriched with well timed dialogues will find themselves pleasantly surprised.

Discourses are artfully crafted and delivered with impeccable timing and finesse, a credit to the outstanding performances of Naomie Harris and Natalie Dormer, who have brought their roles to life, kept me engaged from start to finish.

The Wasp comes from a long line of multi-layer thrillers that have a better-than-average chance I think of becoming cult classics.

These influences from the likes of The Usual Suspects to Knives Out are worn prominently on The Wasp's sleeve, but this is certainly not a bad thing. The script is pretty tight, and the revealing of the layers to the story are surprising to say the least. At a tidy hour and half, the film never overstays its welcome, and makes for a generally enjoyable film. Dormer has a good performance throughout, she even had me convinced that she was some other actress for a while. The set designs were nice, certainly a lot of detail and thought went into the few settings the film takes place in.

However, somehow this film doesn't really live up to the greatness that it hopes to achieve. In the end, the ending did not bring as much energy as it should have, perhaps because this film wanted to be a little cleaner than it needed to be. Despite the darkness and grittiness alluded to, somehow I think more could have been done. Another huge black mark is that The Wasp falls prey to the oldest rookie mistake in the book: child actors. I probably don't need to say any more than that the child actors in the film are really bad. Finally, and perhaps the most damning thing against the film, is the ever present feeling I got that Naomi Harris was overacting very hard for the film. I don't want to put the whole thing on her though because certainly some blame can be put on the writers for her dialogue, but for a film (and genre) that typically relies on a superstar lead to carry the show, I regret to say that Harris was unable to give me a convincing performance.

Despite all this, the film is still enjoyable due to its tidy script and short runtime. Not a bad film, but no need to run to the theatres to watch it.

In dark Bath-based British dramatic-thriller "The Wasp" middle-class Naomie Harris is stuck in a loveless marriage to douchey Dominic Allburn, so reaches out to pregnant old school-bully 'friend' Natalie Dormer with an indecent proposal... but as the two discuss details etc together, it becomes apparent that all ain't what it seems. For his debut screenplay Morgan Lloyd Malcolm adapted his own play (it has the clear feel of being based on a play) which Guillem Morales brings modestly home (with its various flaws) as his first English-language film as director. It's original, and decently engaging, though it lacks the strong stinging edge that woulda made it great.