The Swerve

Amazing performance by Azura Skye. She inhabits this character and I can only imagine it took a toll on her.

This film is dark. It's slow. That's not a bad thing. It examines this character going through dark times. Isolation. Depression. Nobody is helping. Anxiety.

You will feel beaten up after you watch it. But it's an emotional experience that is worth having.

I'm trying to be vague because you really want to experience this without too much information. Just watch it.

Be sure to have something cheery to watch after.

First, it is NOT, as the one-line synopsis says, about a woman battling insomnia. Yes, it is implied she has insomnia, but she is obviously battling a number of things - mostly the lack of attention and affection she gets from her family. I kept wondering if I liked this movie as I was watching it, but I kept watching, so it had something that held my attention. Perhaps I just kept waiting for something significant to happen. Eventually it does. Performance of the main character in particular was excellent. I'd recommend this only to those who enjoy character studies.

Holly (Skye) has been living a life of quiet, brooding desperation that only gets worse when a rat infests her home and her mental health takes a serious hit. She starts believing her family is out to get her and that her husband is having an affair all the while she develops a strange obsession with one of her high school students and while having haunting nightmares about causing a deadly car crash.

Did Holly actually cause this crash? Is everyone really out to get her? The Swerve doesn't seem very interested in answering most of these questions, which makes the whole thing seems all the more paranoid and nightmarish. We never leave Holly's side for a second and the whole story is told from her POV, so who knows what's the truth and what's made up?

It's Skye's harrowing performance that keeps one glued to the screen throughout The Swerve. It's one of those rare, surprising performances from an actor whom we didn't know had a performance like this within them.

The Swerve might just be the bleakest movie of the year and, considering the kind of year we've all been having, no one could blame you if you decided to keep this one on the back burner until happier days arrive, but it'll still be waiting and it'll be just as powerful.

This movie, though depressing, is a very good watch. It sees a woman who is a teacher going through day to day life, only battling major depression. What makes it sad is nobody sees it, even though its painted all over her. Only one person really gets it and sees her struggle, and I won't spoil who that is. Not going to spoil anything but all I can say is that it was all I could do not to start bawling at the end. Watch at your own risk, because I could honestly see how this film could end up putting someone in a slump. If you're prepared though or movies like this just don't have much of a negative effect on you mentally, definitely watch it.

I never even knew who Azura Skye was, however her performance in this film is beyond powerful. A haunting film to say the least, and a definite must see. Not a feel good film by any means, but that's okay. The Swerve is a film you don't want to avoid.