Malady

Its been nearly a week since I first watched this Jack James, written and directed film, and even though its been many days, im still not sure how I feel about it. Whilst on the surface, Malady is a film about love, and bonding and a relationship. Once youve seen the film, it adds a whole new dimension to that description, which has stayed in my mind since the end credits rolled down my viewing screen.To fulfill the last wish of her deceased mother, Holly (played by Roxy Bugler) seeks out to find love and companionship and encounters it in Matthew (played by Kemal Yildirim) and soon relationship becomes all-encompassing and all consuming.. When Holly answers Matthews phone and hears that Matthews Mother is gravely ill, the new couple provide home care in her final days,

'Malady' is such a haunting film, and whilst im still trying to work out what it is that haunts me. I do lean toward the excellent and subtle performances of the two leads and Roxy Bugler is wonderful as Holly, who on one hand you want to take care of, and give her the companionship she craves but who also on the flip side gives of this darker side which you might not have seen, but you know might be lurking in there somewhere, as well as Kemal Yildirim's performance as Matthew who in a lot of scenes, needs no dialogue but commands the scenes with just a look, or body language. Together Kemal and Roxy rule the screen with the story with talent and to describe the film as 'Raw' would be an understatement. Jack James in his feature film directing debut does a fantastic job and with the writing talent he showed with his previous film 'Rose' and the writing of 'Malady' he is definitely a film maker to keep an eye on.

I have no trouble at all recommending 'Malady to film fans, however this aint no popcorn, feet up on the table, a few drinks and turn up the cinema surround type of film. 'Malady' is a dark character drama that shows of the talent of all involved and well worth checking out if you love great film. It just might take you a little while to process your feelings on the film after youve watched it.'

Wow I don't even know where to start talking about this film that is more something you experience rather than talk about. This is so far from mainstream filmmaking that you can get.

There is very little dialogue but what's said means so much and this film is not only disturbing and off putting but it is oozing atmosphere. The film feels like it's constantly shot in closeup so it feels so intimate but also claustrophobic at the same time. The score here is absolutely fantastic and to me it's what makes this film as powerful as it is.

Holly played by Roxy Bugler is dealing with the death of her mother who's dying wish is that she finds love. She quickly connects with Matthew played by Kemal Yildirim who she meets at a restaurant. Eventually they become close but Matthew receives a call about his own Mother and that's when things begin to spiral out of control.

There are strange happenings throughout the film and not once does the film tell you what they mean. There is no spoon feeding of information or exposition. When the film ends you will be frustrated beyond belief at not getting any answers but if you think about what you've seen hard enough all the answers are there. If you love slow burn films that lean more to the art-house side of things there is so much to enjoy and discover. 4.5/5 stars.

(Coming back a literal year later, I realize what I like about this film: The couple. They seem like two quiet, shy people who somehow found each other, and that kind of thing appeals to me. They seem like kind people, and I really want things to work out for them despite the other stuff going on. I get a sense it was always destined to go a certain way, but you can hope for a little while.) ---- Do they not have jobs?? Seriously, what do either of them do? You can't say they work from home because nary a computer was in sight, let alone turned on. Also, while I think I can understand it in general, I'd like a synopsis explaining a few smaller details, as I couldn't make out a few things clearly.

In any case, I can see how people wouldn't like this, but it was perfect for me on a Friday after a long work week. The acting was fine, as was the "story." I didn't mind most of the artsy beginner camerawork, but they did too many extreme closeups for me. I get why, but it's unsettling being close enough to see excema and stretch marks (NOT shaming those things, just it's weird to be THAT close so often). Also, the music was annoying violins (?) screeching for a long time sometimes. And, as someone with misophonia, they were mic'd up a bit too well for my comfort. I cannot stand sounds like swallowing and eating, so that stuff drove me crazy. Finally, you have to suspend disbelief in a major way for a few things also, especially the action that kicks this whole thing off.

It's not bad for a first film, but it's 100% misclassified as horror.

On the surface, Malady is a film about the burgeoning relationship of a young couple, and the slow unravelling of the secrets that they both keep.

At its core though, Malady deals with themes of obsession, possession, and shame. It becomes a close and personal examination of how psychological baggage can drive any relationship to its breaking point.

The tight-in, held held shooting style lends the film a level of intimacy that can often border voyeuristic discomfort. This only serves to build a level of tension that, scene by scene, ratchets up to a finale wherein every single word uttered and every action made seems to have immense gravity and potential consequence.

No, it's probably not a date night film, but it's dark, it's weird, it's well constructed, and above all, it's thoughtful. It's an accomplished debut, and a real breath of fresh air for UK indie cinema.

Another reviewer told you not to read the reviews as he's clearly friends with somebody that participated in this movie. I can only suggest you read all the negative reviews as those are the honest ones. All the positive reviews come from people with no other reviews, so don't need to explain you how that comes. Malady isn't a horror movie, the only horror is that it is a HORRIBLE movie. I can't imagine that the cameraman is really that bad. My guess would be that the director/writer is a little bossy dictator that obliged his cameraman to film everything as bad as possible. EVERY shot is out of focus or at least starts like that, everything that shouldn't be filmed in close-up is filmed in close-up, most of the time the camera is shaky, what makes me to believe that the cameraman has Parkinsons, the scenes are always too dark, or too close, or shot at worst possible angle. But the worst thing about Malady is the story, it's incredibely boring, I don't think it's possible to make it worse even if you tried really hard. The "shocking" finale, if you can call it that, is so predictable, I saw it coming somewhere half the movie. It's been done before, and much better, by Raphael Dethier, in his Belgian short movie "Martha" from 2010. If you can find it somewhere on the net I recommand you watch that one instead. At least you'll watch a good short movie instead of this absolute garbage. I watch three to four movies per day, so you could call me a movie buff, I saw a lot of stinkers but Malady is certainly in the top ten of that list of garbage to avoid at all costs. Maybe Jack James thinks it's art to film everything out of focus, in fact in filming everything wrong, bad lightning, bad sound, bad actors, bad story, and maybe his posh friends think the same, but believe me it's not art, it's the top of the crap.