The Souvenir

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Simon T @Bucksplit Jan 26 Joanna Hogg is a Marmite director: you either surrender to her slow quiet stillness, or you scream. I love her concentration on the interplay of her characters, and her non-judgmental remove. She seems to release her actors and refuse to guide them. In this clearly autobiographical work she focuses on a young student filmmaker (Honor Swinton Byrne, terrific) and her feckless listless Foreign Office boyfriend (Tom Burke, repellent). Metaphorical and actual bombs go off, forcing her to grow up suddenly. It's arguably a shade too long, but beautifully shot and acted and another real achievement for Joanna Hogg. See more Michael M @Modface Jan 22 Edifying and beautifully shot. See more Vlad J Nov 30 Giving it 1/2 star because I cannot give 0 star. I LOVE A24 studios movie and came across this on HBO Max. The storyline forces you to fill in missing pieces which takes away from storytelling and the parts you have to fill in are things that could have very much embellish or help you appreciate the movie more. Plus without spoiling it much there are glaring red flags that the main character denies and falls for that are very superficial. Checked this movie out due to its high ratings but ended up creating this account in hopes of warning others. The only positive is I still want to watch the part 2 that was release 2 years later I believe, just because I refuse to believe this movie was actually funded and went into production See more Alain E @AlainE Aug 20 A very tricky film, not destined to become a mega hit. In my opinion it is a great success, but if someone doesn’t appreciate developments under the surface, it is perceived as boring and pretentious. It concerns a love triangle between an accomplished man and a younger woman and the same man and heroin. The woman is not unattractive, but heroin wins. We are familiar with this scenario with pretty famous protagonists in the past like Jimi Hendrix or Janis Joplin. The movie succeeds because the information is supplied in ways that we participate in the disaster. The main character is played by a very fine young actress who has inherited the best genes of Tilda Swinton. Her mother has a supporting part and is not easily recognizable without her trademark blonde/platinum hair. There is excellent color photography and some inventive elements like showing the bedroom window view during the few sex scenes. Sex and drug use occur off screen. The viewers witness the consequences. Some guy called Martin Scorsese is one of the executive producers and Neil Young appears as a radio interviewer! Watch the credits people. See more Dave S Aug 1 Joanna Hogg’s The Souvenir sounds like pretty standard fare on paper – a young film student, Julie (Honor Swinton Byrne), finds herself in a dysfunctional relationship with an aloof heroin addict (Tom Burke). Early in the film, Julie and her fellow students discuss the shower scene from Psycho, touching on the fact that not all has to be seen in order to understand what has transpired, a technique used throughout Hogg’s film, where time appears to be elastic and exposition is rarely used to explain a situation or develop a character. Based on its slow tempo and unusual rhythms, this probably isn’t a movie for everyone, but is worth watching for anyone interested in a unique approach to a seemingly mundane storyline. See more O g Apr 25 Were I objectively rating this, 1-star would perhaps be harsh. There is interesting raw material here in terms of theme and form. The latter, using a fragmented, transitory and opaque style, was by no means unsuccessful. Unfortunately it was a bit too pleased with itself for doing it. It deliberately jumps through time, requiring the viewer to fill in the gaps. This is fine but, given the film is style over substance, it makes the emotional aspect feel self-indulgent and detached. The film also does the pathos in a way that is simultaneously light yet heavy-handed, the film equivalent of spending two hours to look like you've 'just thrown something on'. Overall it's a film that's far less than the sum of its parts. By the end I positively despised it and I rate it accordingly. See more Read all reviews

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