Hide and Seek

OK, I tried mightily to see the "artsy" aspect of this film. However with a lack of (1) a story line, (2) character development, (3) a plot, along with (4) insipid cinematography, there really wasn't much of anything going for it. The setting was 'meh' and the actors' lack of attractiveness (which might have made the supposed concept more plausible) also contributed to the feeling that I was being ripped off by watching.The idea of polyamorous relationships or even the nudity on display did not turn me off. I was just left with nothing but questions, not the least of which was, "Why was I wasting my time watching this?" The 'idea' behind the movie was perhaps revolutionary but it didn't seem in the least plausible. No wonder they had trouble finding backers as this wasn't more than a whisper of a film. Just hope the actors kept their day jobs!

"Hide and Seek" is a tale of 4 young adults, who chose to move to the countryside, live in nature, share everything, be perfectly equal and free.

The two boys and two girls find innocent ways of entertaining each other and making the weeks pass, as if they want to reduce life to an infinite melancholic childhood experience.

This concept of pure escapism also involves the protagonists loving each other equally. The movie does not hold back on displaying sex and sexuality and it requires an open mind to appreciate it.

"Hide and Seek" is certainly no commercial entertainment and the narrative as it is makes it feel more like an art project than a fictional movie, but for a first-length feature the director show her talent and the brave performances of the cast are impressive.

The synopsis of this film is that four vulnerable young adults flee London to start an unconventional life in the country and find their very own Utopia. They have not all met before either so this has all the hallmarks of being interesting. Now I can't say any more than that without revealing parts of the plot – needless to say this has a few issues which I will deal with next – but please do not read if you do not want any reveals.

Plot Spoilers ahead

The film explores how they decide to explore this alternative lifestyle and this is basically by having acting and improv workshops as a prelude to a free for all in the bedrooms. They have rules too to underscore that there, effectively, will be no rules. They are also dyed in the wool upper middle class as nothing practical is covered at all. The food seems to magically appear – but they do have a rota for the terribly leaden part of life that is the cooking.

There is a spark of interest when an outsider comes a calling and the apple cart looks like it may be upset, but this is a 'bridge' for a tune that is basically all more of the same.

Now this has received mixed critics reviews – some are very favourable indeed but user reviews tend to be less applauding and I am leaning towards those. There is a lot of nudity here too and simulated sex as well as 'self pleasuring'. If that is meant to be indicative of Utopia – all well and good – but cinematically and even artistically it is as new an idea as having a 'twist' in a thriller – unless of course you are doing 'art house porn'. And we all know that means it is just porn with more subtle lighting and untidy pubic hair.

So all in all a bit of a miss – I did watch the whole thing but was left non plussed by the experience. I could still see a lot to merit here – cinematography for example – and the acting was very good indeed. However, as an ensemble piece it barely passes muster so only go for it if you really are a massive fan of the auteur art house scene and a good bottle of wine to aid your viewing digestion.

Let's take a look at the positive. This is or could be perceived as a master class in acting. The movie itself seems to be free of restrictions (and clothes for that matter) and you should be aware of the nudity. There is no visible penetration by the way, but you do have male self pleasuring (explicit and vivid).

Having stated that (in Germany the movie still got the 16+ rating), that should not play a role for or against the movie. The characters have issues which become even more apparent during a visit from the "outside". Their circle is clear and somewhat stagnant, this outside influence kind of gives the movie a bit of a new edge, but nothing that is sustained. We get back to the old "craziness". Which may be the point of the movie, but does not make it more attractive or viewers more excited to watch it (if you'll excuse the pun)

Seen at the Edinburgh International Film Festival 2014. 'Hide and Seek' has a simple story: Leah, a young woman unsure of what she wants from life, inherits an isolated cottage in the country. She invites three other youngsters - a woman and two men - to move in with her on the understanding a different combination - female/male, female/female and male/male - will share what they call the 'marital bed' each night. In between bouts in the bed they while away the hours lazing in the garden or staging evening 'entertainments' (art class, a pretend camping trip, mock funeral etc).

And that's it, really; there's not much sign of a conventional storyline here, although the film does have a beginning, middle and end. Director Joanna Coates keeps the pace constant, if slow; and pulls off the difficult trick of making the sex scenes reasonably explicit but also rather discrete (a vigorous five-finger shuffle aside). (Incidentally, don't get the wrong idea - there aren't so many sex scenes, and they're all pretty brief - this isn't soft porn.) The four young leads - none of whom are drop-dead gorgeous, which adds to the realism of the piece, although none of them looks bad naked - cope well enough with their roles, although for me acting honours go to Hannah Arterton as the girl who breaks a romance of five years to join the group; she utilises a range of facial ticks which on another actor might have seemed too much like Acting - Arterton, however, makes them quite natural.