Unrelated

"Hogg's disinterested agglomeration of realism and gradualism is not novel (many an auteur flourishes on various soils with similar felicity, like Hong Sang-soo, Kelly Reichardt, whose names are just off the top of my head), but it is practical in terms of filmmaking, the camera is static, settings are simple, score-free, no extra-lighting needed, even during nighttime, it has a point-and-shoot expediency of a cottage industry. Distilling human activities exclusively through her rigid frame, both films reveal truth with a clinical discernment. Anna's step-by-step abandon meets with a cavalier response, Oakley is a tease, he knows how to titillate the opposite sex and will not let Anna off his hook before she capitulates, then, to her utter chagrin, he walks away like a champion, and naturally this chapter is closed, Oakley hones his skill of enchantment, but Anna receives a blow to her already distressed middle-age crisis, casual cruelty is blithely exposed. Then, you might not sympathize with Anna, because she is blinded by vanity and obviously operates against her best judgement, also Hogg really foregrounds a 24-year-old Hiddleston's hedonistic youthfulness (even the camera forgoes its immobility trying to catch his exuberance and Adonis gorgeousness), and it is always takes two to tango, at her mature age, Anna should've known better."

read my full review on my blog: Cinema Omnivore, thanks.

I found this film on the MUBI platform and after a bit of apprehension, I decided to give it a go. It had all the existential angst and cathartic denouements that one would associate with an art-house feature that is out these days. Still, this film manages to provide a mildly amusing look at a group of English holidaymakers in a pastoral Tuscan retreat. Tuscany is as much of a character in the film as Kathryn Worth's Anna. I quite liked Joanna Hogg's use of camera, often introverted yet probing with its longing close-ups of Anna and Oakley. She removes the camera away from the action and towards the characters, subtly highlighting their emotional frailties and thriving insecurities. Shots are consumed, cigarettes are burnt and there is a whole lot of fun and games yet the recessive malaise is hardly disguised. Stylistically, there are hints of David Gordon Green in a few of the scenes not to mention the looming figures of Bergman and Antonioni. My only problem with the film despite its languid appeal is its derivative nature. This is an issue that she largely solved in her much better second feature, Archipelago. A promising debut nevertheless.

If you wanted a villa holiday in Tuscany this summer and didn't have time, go to this film and by the end you will feel you have spent a fortnight there. Joanna Hogg has created an upper-middle class version of a Mike Leigh film at his slowest. It's beautifully done, and the fortnight is mostly enjoyable, unless you squirm at the sight of drunken Brits abroad or the sound of the upper-middle classes (I developed a thick skin for both of these a long time ago, myself).

The characterisation is subtle, verging on invisible. There's very little intellectual content or sparkling conversation, surely unrealistic in a film about the chattering classes? Perhaps it's the prodigious amount of alcohol that's consumed. All this keeps the focus on Anna, on holiday from her unhappy situation at home, and the cheerfully pie-eyed teenagers that she hangs out with.

The movie was very thin on plot, yet there did seem to be inconsistencies on the departure date for some of the party. I doubt I'll watch it again to check this though; once is nice, but enough.

Saw this last night at the Glasgow Film Festival with the director and producer present. Joanna Hogg is really an exciting new talent in British cinema. Her influences would appear to be Bergman, Antonioni, Ozu and other classic art-house masters rather than the wan rom-coms and thrillers that tend to clutter up British cinema. The story of a middle-aged woman who joins her friends on holiday in Italy is intriguingly enigmatic but retains an air of mystery and unease as we are allowed to eavesdrop on conversations, hint at relationships and speculate on what seems to be a deeply unhappy existence. The whole film was scripted but the dialogue retains the feel of spontaneity and moments snatched from real life. A challenging film but well worth checking out. Hope it finds a British distributor.

Anna (Kathryn Worth) is having marital problems and spending the summer holiday family friends Verena (Mary Roscoe), Charlie (Michael Hadley) and George (David Rintoul) at their Tuscan villa. She starts to spend more time with the younger teenage children Archie (Harry Kershaw), Badge (Emma Hiddleston), Jack (Henry Lloyd-Hughes) and Oakley (Tom Hiddleston). They smoke some weed and crash a car. The sexual tension boils over as she flirts with the leader of the kids Oakley.

It's a British mumbletalk indie. I wish the relationships between the characters are laid out more clearly early on. It would help decipher and build a backstory to their connections if they have any. They need to throw in a few lines like "I haven't seen you since you were this tall." It would help to build tension in the first half of the movie. The older people also need to have some in-depth talk in the first half. It would fill out their characters. Anna has very curt conversations with Verena. This feels like a bunch of strangers and it's not until the second half that things get a little bit interesting.