s-aitken88 Really didn't enjoy it at all.I like films with depth, meaning, etc, and thought this would be one of those. But it wasn't. I didn't feel any connection to the character(s), the settings, the ideas. Nothing!All it shows is a poor girl coping very unrealistically with her boyfriend's suicide. It seemed like the kind of film that would be much better in the form of a book. The imagery and sequences in the movie just didn't give any sense of connection or understanding with any of it at all. Maybe in a book there'd be more chance to explain everything in finer detail. And when I say 'explain', I simply mean describing the settings, the emotions, etc.The whole film was very cardboard to me.Sorry!Update: I've just discovered this film IS based on a book! So... what can I say... Director reads good book, decides desperately to make a film of it, and fails. Like most films that are based on books...

ric_strebu SPOILERS---- I just finished watching the film, now I'm able to take a breath, recover from an extremely boring experience and state the facts about the first part of the story and the main character:A girl who's partner just committed suicide. She buries herself in denial by ignoring the dead body in her apartment and partying with her friend. When she finally faces the fact, she steals her dead boyfriend's manuscript ("which he wrote for her") and cuts the body in pieces. As you read these past lines you would probably think (as I do) that this story is really interesting. And it is. The character seems so complex, such a mystery. Well, this great idea is just WASTED with the film. SUPER SPOILER ALERT: nothing happens. The characters aren't given the opportunity to change, face obstacles, or face themselves at all. The little conflict that could arise is solved so easily and automatically that you can barely notice. You could argue that the author did not wanted to go with the "usual" Aristotelian story road. But, if you want to be that "bold" or "artistic", you need to find well thought solutions to the problems that arise from "alternative" storytelling. This movie doesn't. Uses of stereotypical concepts such as "the exotic country" with the "their exotic customs" or "the girl that notices the little things and is not burdened with normality" cheapen the film. Also the dodging of conflict like the written work of the dead boyfriend being "magically a great piece of work" and the publishers who "do not question the girl's veracity" just contribute to the film being of low credibility. So as I watched, I simply believed less and less in the story and of course, stopped caring for the character and whatever happened. The language of the images I think does not add anything to the story, they simply say: this is a cheap production, or translated in some interpretations: "this is a cool independent look". I think more thought and effort could have been given to the cinematography. In my opinion, this movie is a must see to get a great example of how to make a film absolutely disengaged from your audience. In conclusion: Anybody that says this film is "a revelation of the bohemian slums", "an honest inspirational take on death" or "a revolution of images...yada yada", would be the exact equivalent of someone in a modern art exhibition venerating a sponge sitting on an anvil while they fix the position of their monocle. Great acting.

random_avenger Samantha Morton is a talented English actress perhaps best known for her role as the abused psychic Agatha in Steven Spielberg's sci-fi thriller Minority Report (2002), but she has delivered award-winning performances in many other films as well. One of them is Lynne Ramsay's 2002 drama Morvern Callar, which was chosen as the most underrated film of the past decade by The Guardian newspaper at the end of 2009.Based on the 1995 novel by Alan Warner, Morvern Callar is the story of an alienated woman of the same name (played by Morton), who discovers her boyfriend James has committed suicide on Christmas day. He has left behind his unpublished novel, some money and a note telling Morvern to send the manuscript to a publisher – she does, but only after inserting her own name as the author of the novel. With James' money, Morvern and her best friend Lanna (Kathleen McDermott) make a trip to Spain, but can traveling and meeting new guys ultimately do anything to get Morvern out of her emotional vacuum on which James' death only appears to have a negligible effect?The main focus is on observing Morvern's character as she wanders through whatever situations she encounters: wild parties, work shifts at a supermarket, a Spanish carnival. It looks like she has little connection to social expectations: she lives with James' dead body for days before getting rid of it by herself and has no second thoughts about submitting his novel as her own. Her portrayal makes one wonder how she could ever talk about her feelings, when she appears to be devoid of them in the first place; even her occasional bouts of joyfulness are little more than ripples on her seemingly undisturbed surface. Morvern's delicate development over the course of the story can be contrasted to the nature of her carefree friend Lanna, who cannot understand the ambiguous nature of Morvern's restlessness. Only hinting, never proclaiming, the film advances to its hauntingly open ending that provides few clear answers.The technical style of the film remains calm and quite cold, carrying a feel of loneliness and detachment even in the crowded party scenes. The cinematography, wide shots of Scottish and Spanish landscapes and the mise en scène also enhance the atmosphere beautifully, as does the sparse use of non-diegetic score. The indie music songs in Morvern's earphones sound very nice too, but luckily avoid coming across as overly hipsterish. Acting-wise, Morton fits in the role of the worn-out Morvern magnificently and McDermott captures the ditzy aura of Lanna at ease too.The film's slow pace and reluctance to explain its characters' motivations render it unsuitable for those with short attention spans, but admirers of vaguer and more ambitious cinema may find it very enjoyable. I am not sure I agree with The Guardian's suggestion of Morvern Callar being the most underrated film of the decade, but I do think it is worth more attention than it has been getting (at least I had not heard anything about it before seeing it last night). In the end, it is not for everyone, but few great movies are.

futures-1 Samantha Morton stars as a "morally ambiguous" young Scottish woman who seems to come into and go from her life and surroundings without the least bit of effect from others or towards herself. I would almost label this film an Existential effort, but the main character, "Morvern Callar", DOES occasionally seem to connect with someone or something… seem… Samantha Morton does a wonderful job creating a character that deserves no attention, yet keeps you watching. Think of this story as one expressing Distances – Detachments – Disabled Psyches. Her reactions seem consistently inappropriate – ill timed for the moment. Her socialization gene was stunted at birth. Life, for better and worse, is little more than water off her back. She's not being mean, she's not being ironic, she's not being moody. She's just not being. (PS: If you have trouble with Scottish accents, prepare to concentrate.)