Rating: 
Summary: Huh...
Review: I guess some folks really didn't dig this one... It has some flaws, but I still thought it was one of the better films of the last 5 years. There's a feeling of the potential of film here beyond the played-out 3 act structure of theatre. For me, at least, that's a good thing!
Rating:
Summary: One of my Favorites...
Review: I loved this movie, but it's easy to see where exactly people loose interest, and begin to hate it. A fellow reviewer said "Morvern's not a-moral, she's scottish". I agree with the first statement, but i might say instead, "Morvern's not a-moral, she's not real." The point of this film is not to be realistic. It's not "Schindler's List". It's a metaphore, an expression of deep, emotional hurt. Morvern doesn't call the police because she's in denial. She knows she wouldn't be able to answer questions, see his body removed, hear her family and friends comfort her. She covers it up not because she's got something to loose, or gain as the case may be. She could easily have (if all she wanted was the money) have called the cops and sold the novel as her own anyway, so you need to concentrate on why she chose to cover up a death she had no part of. SHE COULDN'T TAKE IT. That's why she had to leave with her friend Lana. After ending up in a clubbers paradise, she decides that she's still not in a good place for her, so her journey continues. I could see why a realist wouldn't like this movie. Some just couldn't get past the beginning. Well, just sucks for them i guess.
Rating: 
Summary: GHASTLY
Review: I too was at the famed double feature. I loved Lilya 4-Ever and highly recommend it. What I can't recommend is this movie. It struck me as an amateur attempt at art. The concept had promise but the film ended up being horrible. I can assure all who read this that you don't need to be "like Lana" i.e. a red-headed bimbo who has the I.Q. of a peanut to dislike this movie. In fact you can be quite intelligent and educated and well versed in foreign films and hate this movie. In fact, coming from someone who has lived abroad and watched more foreign films than Hollywood blockbusters I can assure you this film sucks no matter what country you're in or what type of films you normally enjoy. -No missing brain parts... Not like Lana.
Rating:
Summary: A rare wildflower is not for everyone to see.
Review: I watched this movie last night... There were about ten people in the room when it started, and only three of us were left when the credits rolled on the screen. It wasn't surprising to me, but that's because I don't have much faith people's patience (or good taste, but that's another matter).
The movie is about self-discovery. That is what is advertised on the dvd box. This is a clear indication that the movie begins badly and ends well. And my theory proved true: The movie begins with death, grime, drab colors (in contrast to the holiday season's artificially flashing bulbs), drugs, sex.
The main character, Morvern Callar played by Samantha Morton, reacts to her boyfriend's death by leaving the banality of her life and into a journey among the rich colors and flavors of Spain. After breaking out from a self-contained "tourist hotel", she finds herself in the 'real' Spain. The cinematography in these shots are some of the most beautiful you'll find in any movie... the feeling of freedom versus mediocrity expressed in the shots, and the emerges of Samantha Morton's (Sweet and Lowdown, Jesus' Son, Minority Report) brilliant acting within the simplicity of the natural world is worth every moment.
I say this movie isn't for everyone though I would like to be proved wrong... thus my advice to everyone is: be patient with this one, and you will find that it is a rare wildflower.
Rating:
Summary: Painfully excruciating. Worst movie I have ever seen.
Review: I went to see this as a double feature. The first film, Lilya 4-Ever, was a thought provoking, stark, painful beautiful film. The second film, Morvern Callar, stole 2 hours of our lives on a piece of cinematic crap. We only wish we'd had the sense to leave when the others did, 15 minutes into the film. Had the theater seats been more comfortable we could have dozed off to the soundtrack. Adding to the fact that the film was simply and utterly awful was the lack of subtitles to assist the cinephiles in discerning what was being said. I think I understood much of the Russian dialogue in Lilya 4-ever than I did any of the English in Morvern Callar. For those reviewers who would deem my complete lack of appreciation as a sign of my 'missing a certain piece of (my) brain', thank God for that. It was a complete waste of time.
Rating:
Summary: A movie that stays with you
Review: Judging by the other reviews here, Morvern Callar is the kind of movie that people tend to love or hate. You probably won't know which side you'll be on unless you see it yourself. I most definitely am in the love camp. Others have already summarized the plot here, so I won't do that. I will tell you that for me, this was one of those rare movies that made me look at the world differently when I emerged from the theatre. Though the subject matter is grim, the movie managed to convey a great appreciation for the beauty in the world, and after watching it, I was more in touch with that myself. A previous reviewer mentioned having a "hangover" after this movie. Well, I experienced one of my longest cinematic highs as a result of this movie. Which will you experience? The only way to find out is to watch it.
Rating:
Summary: Morvern's Not Amoral, She's Scottish
Review: Many people might not understand Lynn Ramsay's beautiful cinematic adaptation of Alan Warner's novel Morvern Callar because they have not read the novel. Of course many people who read the novel misunderstood Morvern, as well. In a cold port town in Scotland, Morvern is faced with a life that is void of hope and comfort. Instead of bitching about it, she turns inward to music and films. When her boyfriend committs suicide on Christmas Eve, Morvern finds herself faced with letting the outside world know of her pain or hiding it from them. Disposing of his body is her way of keeping the secret, possibly even repressing her own pain. She further escapes to warmer climes, raves, and the closeness of another hurting human body. Just as in Scotland, Morvern finds herself only able to relate to the land and the music of Spain. Although she is physically close with the sweaty bodies during the rave scenes, she is metaphorically distant and unable to relate. The soundtrack captures this brilliantly with the juxtaposition of "while I'm far away from you my baby" over the psychodelic rave scene. After Ratcatcher, I could think of no better person to adapt this groundbreaking novel than Lynne Ramsay. It's simply brilliant.
Rating: 
Summary: Where's the beef?
Review: Morvern Callar (Lynne Ramsay, 2002) Lynne Ramsay first came to the world's attention a few years back with Ratcatcher. She now turns in her second feature film, Morvern Callar. I guess you could call Morvern Callar a slice-of-life film in the same way you could say that of Ratcatcher. The question is, is Morvern Callar's life one you want a slice of? (Ramsay is continuing in that vein in her choice of films; her next project is an adaptation of The Lovely Bones.) Morvern Callar (the gorgeous Samantha Morton, probably best known to American audiences as Agatha the psychic from Minority Report) is a low-income girl in a dead-end job. She wakes up one Christmas morning to find that her boyfriend has committed suicide (and worse yet, done it in the doorway between the living room and the kitchen), leaving her a note, money to cover the funeral expenses, and the text of his novel, with instructions on which publishers to send it to. Her reaction? Going out and partying with her best friend Lanna (Kathleen McDermott, in her first big-screen appearance). No reason to let a suicide dampen your plans... The main feeling I got from Morvern Callar (adapted from Alan Warner's novel of the same name) was that much was missing from it. This would not be unusual with films of novels, but I haven't yet read the book as a comparison. (What does it say about a film when you suspect pieces of it are missing before you even read the book?) The film ends up with an impressionist, surreal feel that keeps the viewer's attention, but at the same time leads to asking the question "what's the backstory here?" a few times too many. There are scenes where Morvern and Lanna's actions aren't understandable in the least, characters who wander in and out for what seems no reason (Lanna's grandmother being the first you'll encounter, but not the last), things like that. Otherwise, though, it's a very pretty film. Samantha Morton is exceptionally easy on the eyes, as are a number of cinematographer Alwin Kuchler's (you saw his work in One Day in September, didn't you?) lovely panoramic scenes of the moors and the Spanish countryside. Intercut with them are the frequent club scenes, which are jarring but meant to be. Visually, the film's a treat; I just wish there has been more substance to it. ** ½
Rating:
Summary: A new lease on life
Review: Morvern Callar is a film that is hard to dismiss. It is a film you won't forget and a film you can't classify. To see this film, and pass it off as a bad one is to miss the motives and subtlety of the pure form which this film embraces. From the very first image, we are thrown immediately into a dilemma and not necessarily forced to realize how to deal with the suicide of a loved one on Christmas morning, but rather how Morvern deals with this tragedy. Is there any right way to react? The story that ensues as a result, is pure poetry. Lynne Ramsay, the director of this surreal, sensual film does what most Hollywood films are too afraid to do. She takes plot and classical narrative storytelling, and pushes them to the back burner in order to convey genuine mood. We see the world as Morvern Callar (aptly played by Samantha Morton). For two hours out of our day, we are made to forget our sordid lives and take a new lease on life with Morvern.
Now, being that this film is full of 'frame of mind', conveyed through sound (a mix tape left behind by Morvern's boyfriend), color (monochromatic reds and blues at a rave, eerily blinking Xmas lights practically controlling the look of her apartment, crisp pristine hues at a supermarket, and saturated grainy film used during a surreal trip on the backroads of Spain), and camera angle (low and tilted shots making us see things just as askew as Morvern), we come to realize that this is an "art" film in the truest sense of the word. Do not be discouraged. If you, however, thought that Men in Black 2 was a better film than most of what came out this year, Morvern Callar is NOT the film for you. If you are curious about the exploration of the senses, and what new ways you can enjoy and watch a film, then I highly recommend this one. By the end of the film, one realizes how intoxicating life can be when you put your reservations aside, let loose and enjoy. I don't think I ever want to go back!
Rating:
Summary: This movie gave me a headache.
Review: MORVERN CALLAR is one of the worst movies I've ever seen. It starts out with this brilliant set of shots, but, when you realize that the characters' motivations are unjustified, aimless and creepy and that dialogue which could move the story forward is nonexistent, the beautiful cinematography becomes weird. And the mish-mash of music doesn't help things, particularly when it disintegrates into ear-bleed techno and feedback noise. Samantha Morton stars in it as Morvern Callar, a girl whose boyfriend commits suicide, so she steals his just-finished novel and sends it off to a publisher as her own. Then, she chops his body up and buries him so that she can use the money he saved for his funeral to go on vacation in Spain. (Of course, if I wanted to chop up the body of the man I loved deeply, I don't know if I'd have the constitution or forensic knowledge to be able to do it, but Morvern, a grocery store cashier, is able to do it with no trouble. Oh, and apparently her boyfriend didn't have any friends or family who might go wondering what happened to him, for no one ever asks or suspects that he might be dead. Oh, and the fact that Morvern will eventually become a published author - a point that the film never reaches - you'll assume people who knew him will realize that her boyfriend was the one who wrote the novel, but that apparently didn't occur to or matter to these filmmakers.) But if you go into the film expecting it to actually focus on what would be a really interesting plot if it were properly explored, you'll be disappointed. The plot is incidental to the film, which instead thinks it would be more interesting to show Morton looking depressed or blank for minutes at a time with no dialogue. As the credits rolled, I said to myself aloud, "What the heck?" And a lot of people voiced agreement with my statement. I walked out of the film with a headache, then went to the theater management to ask them what the viewer consensus had been. The manager said a lot of people had been complaining about the complete lack of sensible character motivation. When I walked out of the theater into the parking lot, the sun worsened my headache. MORVERN CALLAR was the first cinematic hangover I've ever had, and I hope never to have another one.
|
